


Minor Characters III: Take Charge

by gelbes_gilatier



Series: Minor Characters [4]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Action/Adventure, Beta Site, Gen, Soldiers, Survival Exercise, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-14
Updated: 2013-08-14
Packaged: 2017-12-23 12:37:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 27,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/926512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gelbes_gilatier/pseuds/gelbes_gilatier
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After that little time-out from last time, SG10 should be fit for service again, so Major Moore doesn't waste time to catch up on the team's scandally low tally on survival exercises.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Minor Characters III: Take charge**

" _You were meant to live large_  
Come on, take charge  
Let's go light the world up  
Let's not wait until the end  
To be the things we wish we'd been."

_Superchick, "Super Trouper"_

**One**

_Reece_

Okay, so the velvet gloves are obviously off. Not that it takes me totally by surprise, but yeah… if I didn't know he could be nice, I'd now be sure the Major is a superior asshole. Or maybe he _is_ a superior asshole and I just let myself be fooled by the occasional acts of appearing human. Anyway, I really have a problem here and I should focus on it.

So… either I turned kind of blind or the checkpoint does indeed have different coordinates than those I am at. Or I could have… no, honestly, I didn't mess up orientation. I did everything right, got to the coordinates in my list… and am surrounded by nothing but… _scenery_. Which leads me to aforementioned conclusion: the Major is a superior asshole. I just _bet_ I'm the only one who got wrong coordinates and ended up in the middle of nowhere… or, to be precise, even _more_ in the middle of nowhere than the rest of the team.

Okay, so the Major didn't know the coordinates to the checkpoint himself, because he left most of the planning for this wretched survival exercise to Major Lorne, but I'm almost positive he requested Lorne to mix up my coordinates a bit. But anyway… I just should stop whining. He never made a secret out of the fact that he'd give me hell, and after that weapons drill from hell last week I should have anticipated something like this. I signed up for it, I have to go through with it. As easy as that.

But dammit, that doesn't change anything of the fact that I'm fucking _lost_. And a look at the map isn't helpful at all, because I don't even know if this is really the _right_ map for this part of the planet. For all I know, I could very well toss it into the shrubbery. So… what to do?

Taking another look around, I really only see trees, trees… and yeah, more trees. Oh… and there's a faint rushing of water in the distance. A river? Another look on the map and… oh, goody, _maybe_ he forgot to tell Lorne to give me a wrong map as well, because there _is_ a river near to my supposed position on it. Well… it's a start. With a suppressed sigh I start walking towards the sound.

Or rather… stumbling. I'm almost ashamed to admit it, but I'm afraid that I'm not at my most elegant at the moment. To be honest, I'm even a bit grateful for the fact that I seem to be all alone here. But hey, _no one_ is able to look elegant with a heavy pack on their back, equipment vest, G36, Beretta, spare ammunition, sleeping bag… It's really starting to unnerve me that flat ground not covered in leaves and mean foliage that makes it impossible to see if there are holes in the ground is very, very rare here.

Not to sound whiny or anything, but it's been about two and a half days now and quite frankly all I want is a nice hot bath and then dozing off while reading a book in front of that fireplace I've come to love since I moved in with Laura. Alas, it was never supposed to be easy anyway. Onwards, Marine. The faster you walk, the sooner you're home again.

And yes, there's the river. Fast current, not looking particularly inviting – most of all because temperatures here are chilly at best – so lets all hope I don't have to cross it. Alright, so where's the Beta site from he… huh, what's that? Looks like a SGC standard backpack… kinda like the one I'm carrying. What the hell is _that_ doing here?

Very cautiously, I approach the black backpack that's tangled between two branches in the water. If the Major was mean enough to give me wrong coordinates, he might as well have been mean enough to have Dee rig a small charge, just to teach me a lesson about booby traps. Okay, what did Dee tell you about examining unknown objects that might contain C4 or other nasty surprises?

Oh, right. First of all… keep a careful distance. Then: Try to determine if there are any triggers or fuses that can be seen from your position. Mh… kinda difficult, with half the pack still hanging in the water and the whole thing moving. Anyway… what else? Oh yeah, right… if you can be sure you won't give away your position with it and have enough ammo to spare: Shoot at it and see if anything happens. Well… I _am_ all alone here, but maybe… that's exactly what the Major wants me to do: Be careless enough to go for this option, give away my position, be surrounded by grinning SFs in a minute or something.

Pack's still dangling in the wa… oh, no, wait, something changed… dangerously close to be taken away by the current. And anyway… as soaked through as that thing is, shouldn't any trigger mechanism be destroyed anyway? If the Major really had Dee rig something up, he would have made sure it's not lethal, just loud enough to embarrass me and maybe give me a blackened face. Dangling… okay, I'll risk it.

Carefully, I make my way over to the pack and just before it finally falls off I manage to grab it and retrieve it. Now… what to do with it? Looks like an ordinary standard SGC-backpack… quite heavy, so there must be something in it. Still doesn't explain why it's here, though. Mh… maybe some other team lost it here on one of their survival exercises? Only one way to find it out… open it and see if anyone was dumb enough to pack some easily recognizable personal item.

Let's just hope it won't blow up in my face. Okay… what do we have here? BDUs, t-shirts, MREs… wait, what's that? A knife? Definitely _not_ SGC standard… mh… What the… ? I _know_ this sign on the bottom… three horizontal bars, one vertical, three horizontal. That's _the Major_ 's knife. It has to be, because I remember that from my little stunt in his body, when I discovered his personal knives. They all have this little discreet unmistakable sign. What the _hell_ is a backpack with one of the Major's knives doing in the middle of nowhere?

Something… isn't right here. The Major is _very_ attached to his knives. In fact, he made me sort through all of them after we came back from the NID mission, to make sure he could bellow at me in case I managed to lose one of them during the time in his body. So there's really no chance he'd accidentally lose one of them or plant it here, with the faint possibility someone might come by. Something happened and I'm already starting to have a very bad feeling about this.

And of course something like that happens on an exercise where we weren't allowed to carry radios with us. Whose stupid idea was _that_ , by the way? I mean, it's not like this is fairy land where trees break your fall and the water carries you home if something happens.

Anyway, I don't have a radio, the Major doesn't have a radio and something separated him from one of his beloved knives, most probably by force or accident. So… best option I have? Following the river upstream – something tells me the Major wouldn't be dumb enough to fall into the river _and_ lose his backpack – and hoping to stumble upon another clue to his fate, since I have no clue where the Beta site is anyway. Let's just hope someone there realizes we're gone.

_DeLisle_

Homely Beta site, here I am. After two and a half days in the wilderness, even the open tent in front of one of the Beta site's huts looks like wonderful, wonderful civilization. As I come closer, Major Lorne takes his feet from the crate they were resting on and stands up from his chair. "Congratulations, Sergeant. You're the first one of your team to arrive here."

Huh? First one? The Major isn't already here? Usually, he arrives first. Granted, at least half the times he arrives first because I managed to track him down and give him a head start. For me, that's a kind of bonus exercise – keep him in my sights, but keep out of his. Until now, the score is something like "Sergeant DeLisle: 38, Major Moore: 0"… although every time I have this distinct feeling that he _knows_ that there's someone on his trail.

"Thank you, sir. If I might add: this is a first." Major Lorne raises his eyebrow and looks a little skeptically.

"Really, huh? And here I thought a Sergeant of your experience would be able to beat even Major Moore more than once." I _knew_ it. The Major always was very aware of me following him and I bet he talked about it with other officers.

"Well, sir… there's a reason why he's a Major and I'm a Sergeant, I guess." He nods, still not fully convinced by my little charade.

"Right. Anyway… go get inside and grab a shower and something to eat. I'll signal you when the rest are here and ready for a debriefing." Something… in his bearing makes me wonder if everything is alright. There's an edginess to him that usually isn't there. Very faint, but… yeah, well, there.

I know I should just heed his order and maybe even grab an hour or two of sleep until the rest arrive, but if Major Lorne is edgy, something is afoot. I clear my throat. "Uh, sir… permission to ask a question?"

He nods. "Sure, go ahead."

"Any news on the rest of my team? I'd really love to know how far ahead I am." Mh… maybe that was a bit over the top.

"Really? Never thought you were the competitive sort of guy." Errr… he didn't see right through the little pretense, did he? "Anyway… according to her signal, Captain Greenspan should be here in about an hour if she keeps up her current pace." Hey, great! Because… that means she's… a really good soldier. Yeah. "Lieutenant Reece… oh well, looks like she's about a day's hike away from here. Mh, better than we expected." A day's hike. _Better_ than they expected? Did I miss something here?

He looks at me again. Uh, sir… there's still someone missing, you know. I clear my throat again. "What about Major Moore, sir?"

"Well…" He rubs his neck. That's _never_ a good sign. "We lost contact with his signal an hour ago. As of now, that's not necessarily a cause for alarm since he's done that a few times before." Major Lorne looks a little miffed now. Do I smell another Academy story behind this? Or something that happened later? Too bad I'm too polite and know my place too well to ever ask either of you. "Like I said… I'll signal you when the rest arrive."

"Right. Thank you, sir." I give him a small casual salute and make my way over to the hut temporarily assigned to my team, already looking forward to the hot shower. Provided there's some hot water left, that is. What is it that they can never make the showers work properly here? And why is it that something in Major Lorne's bearing told me I'm not alone with that strange underlying bad feeling? Oh well… not even three days in the wilderness and I already start seeing things. Must be getting old.


	2. Chapter 2

**Two**

_Greenspan_

Well… that was an easy one. At least this time it was more of an orientation exercise than a real survival exercise. Oh, and a "How much can one Air Force doctor carry?" exercise. Thanks for sticking the extra weights in my pack, Majors Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dum. And thanks or messing around with my map, guys. Unfortunately for you I already had a DI who loved spilling coffee on our maps or some doodling on them before handing them to us. Took me under an hour to figure out what _you_ did with it.

Anyway… home on the ranch again. Or, well, the outpost to the actual ranch which isn't quite as cozy. I sure hope Dee and Tom haven't used up all the hot water rationed to us, because I happened to stumble into that really icky mud pool with… _something_ in it. I really only want to get this stuff off me.

And yeah, there's one of the Gruesome Twosome sitting in his tent, feet on a crate, looking like nothing in the world… wait. On closer inspection… he does look a little worried. Huh? "Oh, look who found the spa section of this little resort." But looking worried never kept Major Evan Lorne from making a joke at my expense.

"Yeah, no thanks to _you_. Why do you two always keep forgetting that I have the Power Of The Needle?" He grimaces a little pained. Yeah, I'm gonna have _so_ much fun next time I get the chance to give you a physical.

"You only grow through challenges, Captain." Very funny.

I'm just _this_ close to answer with something like "I'll give you challenge, Major." but he _does_ have a point. So I simply grumble, "Yeah, right. Any chance there's still some hot water left or did the guys already take all of it?"

He doesn't answer right away… and my guts tell me that this is _not_ a good thing. "Well… actually… Sergeant DeLisle is the only one who arrived. An hour ago, to be precise." Alright. Wait. Dee is the only one who's already here? Where the hell… Tom? Maureen? Something isn't right here.

"Evan…" He holds up his hand.

"I know, I know. And before you ask: No, I have _no_ idea where Tom is, but that's not a reason to get worried, as you know very well yourself." Yeah, right… then why _are_ you worried? And anyway, who said I was only worried about _Tom_?

"Tom is not the only one I could be worrying about, you know." He really _tries_ to look unfazed but something in his bearing tells me he and Tom did more to her than just making her pack heavier and messing around with her map. And that he just realized that unlike other people I'm not afraid to be vocal about what I think about this.

He clears his throat. "Don't worry, Laura. Lieutenant Reece made better progress than we estimated." Than you estimated?

I can't help giving him the narrowed eyes. "Okay, Evan… what did you do to her?"

"Well…" Before he can continue, though, someone hails him on the radio.

"Sir… we might have a situation here." I raise my eyebrows. Already sounds like fun.

"Go ahead." Did I read him wrong or did Evan just think the same?

"The armory just discovered that there are several items unaccounted for: A zat-gun, a G36, a Beretta, several cartridges of live ammunition…" That's… not good. The look on Evan's face confirms this assessment. And of course those are not the only bad news. "Additionally, Corporal Rimmers has gone AWOL." It's getting better and better. "And the SGC just hailed us to give us an up-date on rogue NID activity in this quadrant."

I look at Evan again and see him mouthing "Crap." and share his sentiment. Reminiscent of the last mission SG10 went on, we both drew the conclusions immediately. However, it's not Evan's nature to lapse into panic and he manages to thank the caller in that patient restrained way of his that always makes me wonder how he and Tom could ever become friends.

He runs a hand over his face and walks a few steps. "Alright. We need to get to Reece first." I give him the narrowed eyes again. What the _hell_ did you do? He takes a deep breath. "We… gave her… different coordinates. Among other things."

"What… other things? Don't even _think_ about not telling me." Do I detect an embarrassed note in his face?

"Well… two of her ammunition spare packs are blank cartridges, she only has half the usual supply of charcoal tablets, her flashlight isn't working…"

 _What_? I can't help interrupting him. "You're kidding me, right?"

He raises his hands defensively. "No, I'm not, I swear."

Of course you aren't. You never joke about things like these. "You're saying Tom asked you to mess around with her coordinates, ammunition, charcoal tablets and… a million other _dangerous_ things although you _knew_ she'd be out there without any possibility to contact us if things went down the drain and you just _went along with it_? What kind of freaking officers are the two of you?"

O…kay… maybe I shouldn't have let myself go like this. But it's just… how _could_ they? "Hey, calm down. He also told me to put an emergency radio in her pack. I haven't told her about it, but he was positive she's clever enough to use whatever she finds in her pack, and I do share this assessment of her personality."

Oh, Tom was positive she's clever enough. Of course. That makes everything so much better. "I will _not_ calm down. There's probably a freaking killer on the loose out there, hot for getting her and Tom and you tell me she can't count on her resources! God, just you two wait until this is over…"

"Enough, Laura!" Whoa. Okay. I better shut up now. I've known him long enough to see when he's not in the mood to tolerate such behavior. And of course… he _is_ senior rank here. "I'll assemble a search team and we'll get them both back. Just wait here and…"

However, that doesn't mean I will let myself be reduced to the good little medic waiting at home. "With all due respect, _sir_ … no."

"Yes, you will." I _know_ I should simply comply with it. And with any other officer… maybe I would. But obviously I've just known Evan Lorne far too long to simply do what he tells me to do.

"Like I said: No, I won't."

He shakes his head, still being his stern CO self. Impressive. I've seen officers crumbling far earlier to my resolve… Tom included. "You just came back from a fairly long survival exercise. I will certainly _not_ risk taking you with me."

God, I'm a damn SGC-soldier, just like him. What the hell makes him think I already reach my limit after a simple three day orientation hike? "Hey, medic doesn't equal sissy! I've had situations worse than this and I'm still fit for duty."

For a moment, he's silent and I start to realize that… I should work on my attitude towards him. Good thing we've known each other for years now and that there were no other soldiers present. He wouldn't have tolerated any of my behavior if it were different and I should be really grateful I'm still not at the receiving end of the part of his personality that brought him as far as a team leader at the SGC. "Alright, fine. But _you_ will save my ass when Moore goes ballistic on me for this." Well… to say I'm not surprised at this change of heart would indeed be a lie.

"Yes, of course." I mean it. We both know Tom well enough to be able to determine he won't be pleased about Evan letting me be a part of the SAR team and we also both know I should be the only one receiving a wigging for that.

"It's a promise, Laura." I nod.

"Absolutely." He gives me a resigned little sigh.

"One day, Captain Greenspan won't get what she wants, no matter how often she stomps her foot."

Unfortunately, I can't help grinning at least a little at that. "Yeah, but that's definitely not today."

His only answer is, "Go get changed, Laura. I'm certainly not taking you with me looking like… _that_." Well… he's got a point there. I wouldn't either.

_Moore_

Holy crap. If I didn't know better I'd say I was hit by a truck. And to be honest… that would have been the nicer alternative to what _really_ happened to me. It would also be infinitely less embarrassing. Dammit. Downed by a Corporal. A _Marine_ Corporal, to be precise. And to be even more precise: A Marine Corporal who's armed to the teeth.

At least he still thinks I'm out cold and made the mistake of not paying attention right at the moment I finally could convince myself to open my eyes just a tad, but it's becoming increasingly hard to pretend, since something isn't right with my right arm – guess it's broken and wish Laura was here – and the usual headaches after a stun blast are grating on my nerves. On the upside, Rimmers obviously doesn't want me dead… well, yet. No idea why he didn't just kill me but I don't care about his reasons anyway. All _I_ care about is how I can get the fuck out of here.

So… okay, I guess I have no other option than to stop playing unconscious sooner or later. Might as well do it now. Oh well. Cue… groan. And open eyes, nice and slow. Ah, someone is finally paying attention to his prisoner again. Lesson number one, young man: _Never_ underestimate your prisoner, even if his arm looks funny and you _think_ you have him tied up nicely.

"Ah, Major. Finally coming around, are you? For being supposed to be such a tough cookie you sure are easy to knock out." You wouldn't say that if you didn't have a zat-gun with you, you sissy. "Anyway… now that you're awake… we just have to wait for the last guest to arrive… and then the party can _really_ get started." Another… guest? "Just a hint, flyboy: it's a _girl_." Huh? What the…?

Aw, crap. He isn't talking about one of _my_ girls, right? Please tell me he isn't. He looks at me, expectantly but honestly: He's doing enough talking for the two of us. I certainly don't have the desire to contribute anything to the conversation. And maybe my silence will irritate the man enough that he tells me all on his own what the hell he's doing here. As far as _I_ know, Rimmers is part of the armory personal and never showed any tendencies for being prone to losing it.

"Oh yeah, there she is… Those little tracking signals sure _are_ an asset." Fuck. I have no idea where I am and how much time must have gone by – but judging from the fact that there is no sign of the cavalry yet I must be still in the time limit I set with Lorne – so I really hope he's talking about Laura, not Reece. Not that I don't think she could handle this situation, honestly… she just isn't equipped for it. Which is – yes, I _know_ – my fault.

And maybe I should start to take charge of this conversation now, if I ever want to get the information I need. "Do your superiors know that you have these disturbing stalker tendencies, Corporal?"

"Surprise, surprise, it can talk." Just wait until I get your enlisted ass, Rimmers. Even with a broken arm and bound feet, I'm still a Major and I deserve your respect. "Anyway… it's of no concern to _you_ what my superiors know or don't know." Really? I'll ask your superiors. And while I'm on it, I'll ask the JAG Corps as well, if you don't mind.

"Yeah, maybe… but I'm fairly sure it _is_ of their concern that you emptied half the armory, went AWOL and assaulted a superior officer. I take it you know that you're in deep?" That earns me a slap across the mouth, splitting open my lip. What is it with people liking to slap me? Do I have a sign on my forehead saying "This guy makes a perfect target if you want to backhand someone."? But yeah, at least that told me I was right in my assumptions.

The armory didn't hand him his killing toys voluntarily, his CO didn't give him a pass for the woods and he was the one who shot me down. Still doesn't explain though, why he did it. "If you think I'm in deep… look at yourself." Oh, surprise, I already did that. And I've been in worse situa… did I just hear thunder in the distance? I didn't, right? Please someone tell me I didn't. "And isn't it great how precise weather forecasts on this planet always are? Ten minutes… and there will be no way anyone could get a helicopter in the air. That is, if they even have noticed you're missing."

Just. Fucking. Great. Let's just hope _someone_ there realized I might be in trouble even though it's not quite unusual for me to turn off my tracking device. And let's hope to _God_ Reece is already on her way back to the Beta site. At least one of us should get out of this unharmed… because I might never be able to forgive myself if Rimmers caught her as well and her lack of resources leads to serious injury or maybe even death.

And because Fate sucks so much at subtlety suddenly thunder cracks loud enough to make windows shatter and a gigantic ray of lightening lights up the upper regions of the forest.


	3. Chapter 3

**Three**

_Reece_

You know… I really thought forest and chilly temperatures and faulty equipment didn't exactly make for a nice day. But you want to know what _really_ messes up your day? All of the above _and_ a raging thunderstorm right above you. One that, according to the info on this planet, won't stop for at least two days. Just. My. Luck.

On top of it… still haven't found the Major. Just been traipsing around the forest hoping to find _some_ trace of him – which is quite futile, considering guys like him are part of the SGC because they are usually good at not leaving behind any traces. Or at least something that might tell me what exactly happened.

By now I'm positive that it _has_ to be something bad, since the Major would _never_ throw away one of his knives, unless someone forced him to. Actually… not even then. He would only let someone throw them away… if he was unconscious or… Heaven forbid. Let's just not think about _that_.

So… something or someone must have brought him down… wait, what's that? This trail doesn't look like it's supposed to be here. It rather looks like it was made by force… someone falling down the slope for example. Must have happened recently, because the rain hasn't managed to wash it away yet.

Curious to see if there is more to it, I edge closer and examine the shrubbery at the foot of the slope and the parts that I can see without having to climb too much… that slope is _steep_. I can't see any blood but that's probably only because it already disappeared with the rain. What I do see… are two or three scraps of fabric. Which in their last life… could have been part of SGC BDUs… oh God. Is that the team patch up there?

Too worried to care anymore, I try to climb up the slope, disregarding the rain and my bulky load. With utmost straining I can actually reach the object in question and snatch it from a twig, just before the rubble on the slope gives way again and nearly makes me tumble down. After recovering from the slight shock of almost having met the same fate as the one who tumbled down here before me, I take a closer look at the patch… that very clearly says "SG10".

Well… I guess I have it confirmed now. The Major is in some trouble. Okay, what to do now? Calm down, Reece, situations like these are what the Major has been training you for all those months and you can handle this. The rain is coming down heavier now… oh fuck, need to find traces to see if the Major got away from this on his own or if someone dragged him before the rain washes them all away. Hurry up, Marine, and remember what Dee and the Major taught you about track reading. And what Laura taught you about the way injured people might move.

Taking a deep breath, I start to search the ground methodically for any traces… oh. Oh, are these footprints? And are those _my_ footprints… no, I'm sure I came from the other side and… hey, that looks like someone dragged something heavy through here. Oh joy, I think I just found the traces I was looking for. Yay me!

Need to follow them fast now or the rain _will_ have washed them away before I can get to where these are headed for. Giving my best to outrun the destructive force of the pouring rain, I follow the tracks, away from the river and deeper and deeper into the forest, accompanied by thunder and lightning – did I ever mention how _much_ I hate lightning? Actually… I don't even have words for how much I hate lightning… and being in the forest in the middle of a thunderstorm. When this is over… I'll hand in a request for leave and book the next available flight to _somewhere_ nice and warm and dry. I've really had enough of that snow, rain and generally awful weather of the last few missions.

However, I really should get back into the present… because I _think_ I just heard a voice between two claps of thunder. A _nasty_ voice. I stop walking to strain to hear it again over the sound of pounding rain and rustling leaves… "You really think I'm alone in this, Moore?" Okay. Whoever that is… he has the Major. And he's only a few feet away from me. The only reason he hopefully hasn't heard me yet is that it's just too damn loud here because I'm ashamed to say that I'm not exactly a very stealthy person… yet.

Another clap of thunder gives me an opportunity to get closer to where the Major and his captor are. I can even get close enough to actually see him – the captor, that is – through the surrounding foliage. I'm not quite sure because it's grown pretty dark by now but… is that Corporal Rimmers? Yeah… yeah, that's him. I don't believe it. When we arrived here… I actually caught him throwing us funny looks once or twice but dismissed it as a result of my sometimes overactive imagination. Now… I wish I'd told someone about it. And I wish I would start learning to trust my gut.

It's no use now, though, because I have a much more pressing problem at hand. In the last blast of lightening I managed to spot the Major and… it doesn't look pretty for him. Something's the matter with his arm – that angle just can't be natural – and it looked as if Rimmers already had a go at him. God, I wish they'd all just stop beating the Major up. Being beaten up always makes him a grumpy, impatient and snarky bastard and that's not nice, even if you're on his side.

"Course you aren't alone in this. Usually Maybourne's merry men aren't clever enough to pull off something like this all on their own." Yep, and another slap across the face. I bet it's not his first and I really wonder when he will learn to just keep his trap shut in situations like these. Dammit, how the hell do I stop Rimmers?

Well, obviously, there's only one way. A little reluctantly, I grab the G36, aim for the head… and after a moment of consideration aim for his legs. I know we were issued live ammunition and something in me… simply refuses to kill a man in cold blood and from behind, even if said man injured my CO and is probably about to kill him. Shame on me, I know, but… I just can't. So I aim for his legs, pull the trigger…

And suddenly I'm back in the bio weapons facility, hearing another shot ring through the room and see a bullet hit a man in the head… A bullet I… oh God, what the hell is happening here? What the…? "Reece, get down!" Huh? Down? I blink but it's already too late. Rimmers has already whirled around… and my last conscious thought is a pretty pronounced "Crap."

_Greenspan_

Please someone tell me why I just fought a herd of flyboys and grunts to grab a shower in peace – seriously, they need to get more female soldiers and scientists out here because then we'd probably finally get our own showers – when it just started raining cats and dogs. Grumbling, I walk over to the helicopter LZ, only to see an expression on Evan's face I really don't like. I resist the urge to sigh before saying, "I bet you're just about to tell me that trying to locate Maureen and Tom from above is out of question now."

A little disgruntled, he nods. "Yeah. And before you start bitching about it: You know flight security protocol very well yourself, Laura. There's just no way we can get those copters in the air safely and they probably wouldn't be of any help anyway. No way the heat cameras would be working in that weather."

Much as I hate to say it: He's right. I still can't refrain from making a face. "I always liked taking a walk in the rain anyway."

"Even in _that_ kind of rain, ma'am?" A little startled I turn around to see Dee standing behind me. Is it the lightning or did he just give me a very faint grin?

"I seriously doubt that, Sergeant. Anyway… I've got my team geared up and ready to go. Laura, you're with me." Because he wants to keep me on a short leash to teach me a lesson about antagonizing him, I'm sure of that. The worst thing is: It's his every right and I deserve it for the stunt I pulled.

He turns to Dee. "Sergeant, I want you to stay here and check back with Captain Dearing on possible suspects on the Beta site." What? Dee is supposed to stay _here_ , while his teammates are out there, probably fighting for their lives? "I trust you to be stealthy enough that they don't know they have been found out until you have them on the ground with their hands cuffed behind their backs." What the…?

"Yes, sir." Uh-uh. No way. I won't let Evan order Dee to do the MPs' work when we have every need for him out there. And since _Dee_ can't very well speak up against an order – I'm pretty sure I can see that he's not exactly happy about having to stay behind – it's my goddamn duty to make sure he won't have to stay here.

"Major Lorne, a word in private with you, please?" Okay, maybe I shouldn't have sounded _that_ glib. For a moment, it looks as if Evan is about to deny me that permission but then he grudgingly nods and walks a few steps away with me.

When we're out of Dee's ear shot, I give up my reservations. Almost growling, I say, "Evan Lorne, don't you _dare_ ordering my Sergeant around like this."

He runs a hand through his already soaked hair and shakes his head. "Laura, I know we…" I'm about to contradict him again but now it looks like he's really had it with me. "Laura, listen! I know we go way back and everything but _I_ am the ranking officer here, this is _my_ mission and I can damn well order your Sergeant around as I please. You get that? You _get_ that?"

For a moment, we just stare at each other, both refusing to give way to the other one and to be honest: This is a very scary side of Evan. I didn't get to see it very often before and it usually was directed at someone else… and I actually once made a mental note never to piss him off enough to make him look like that at _me_. Well, I guess… I should have _really_ written that down somewhere. Trying not to sound too petulant, I grind out, "Yes, sir."

He nods, still not really satisfied. "Right, I thought so." Okay… I admit it. That thing with telling him not to order around my Sergeant – and when did Dee turn into _my_ Sergeant anyway? – was not a very smart move. In fact… it was a pretty stupid move.

I take a deep breath. "And… I'm sorry for telling you off like this."

Looking at me like he isn't quite ready to forgive me for overstepping my boundaries like this, he still says with a little sigh, "Yeah, you better. You know as well as I that if there's anyone capable of ratting out these bastards without kicking up dust, it's Sergeant DeLisle." Yes, of course. I don't even know half of the stuff Dee did before joining the SGC but according to Tom some of it is classified enough that not even _he_ has access to it.

"Of course… Again: I'm sorry." Grudgingly, he nods.

"Just don't do it again." With that, he turns and we walk back to Dee who looks suspiciously like he knows very well what this was all about, so I give him a little apologetic shrug. "We'll leave in ten. I expect you to be ready by then, Captain." Without another word, Evan turns to leave to brief his team for one last time… and to give me a few minutes alone with Dee. I guess I really owe him one now.

"You shouldn't have done that, ma'am." Aw come on, not you too, Dee.

This time allowing myself a sigh, I reply, "I know. Do me a favor?" A little wary, he nods. "Let's not talk about it ever again."

"Of course, ma'am." And stop calling me ma'am, goddammit. Stop distancing yourself from me. Despite everything we shouldn't even think about, you're still a friend and I don't want to be called ma'am by my friends. "Anyway… good luck, ma'am."

"Thank you, Dee." See? I don't call you Sergeant. What's so hard about learning to call me Laura? "And good luck to you. I trust you to get all the bastards within an hour."

At that, he actually gives me one of his little amused grins. "I'll do my best, ma'am."

"I'm sure you will. And now… please excuse me, I have to hunt down a rogue Marine set on killing our CO and linguist." Dee nods.

Then he does something that surprises me a little. He says, "Right. And ma'am, with all due respect: Please don't aggravate Major Lorne any more. He… might decide he can do the hunting very well without you." What the…? Okay, looks like Dee just thought the same. Mh… someone just tricked himself into saying something he usually only thinks? Alright, best ignore it.

"Thanks for the advice, Sergeant. Get going." He nods, obviously glad to have an excuse to get out of my sights as fast as possible. Somehow… it's cute to see stoic Dee be all fussed up and… embarrassed. Wish it wouldn't have been so dark so I could have seen if he actually blushed…

"Hey, Greenspan, you coming or what?" Oh, alright. Not aggravating Major Lorne too much. Here I go.


	4. Chapter 4

**Four**

_Dee_

What the hell…? No, I will _not_ think about what I just said to Laura. I have a job to do. Find Captain Dearing, blow some NID rats' covers and deliver some nice packages to the MP. Yeah, right. Actually… that's probably going to be a cake walk. Exactly what I used to do a few times for the CIA: Hunt down traitors. Well, among other things, that is.

It'll also keep me from brooding over what Laura might have told Major Lorne just a few minutes ago. I know there are a few officers that aren't quite as forgiving as the Major when she stomps her foot to get what she wants… and Major Lorne is among them. He does cut her some slack but obviously you really have to know Laura for your whole life to not be irritated by her rather strong will.

Involuntarily, I throw a look back towards where Major Lorne had called Laura to meet up with his team but they are already gone, into the dark of the forest, hopefully not for long. Resisting a sigh, I turn back and make my way over to the hut the communications department is housed in, walking through rain and mud and already feeling like I'm about to forget how being dry actually feels. As far as I know, Captain Dearing is head of communications and at the moment only he and the guy who received the encrypted message from the SGC know about the possible rogue NID moles on the Beta site. Let's just hope neither of them is one.

Not exactly happy – even though it means being out of the rain – I enter the communications hut. When I requested to be taken off the CIA cooperation roster to work solely with USAF Black Ops units I did so because… let's just say I didn't feel quite right with the CIA. Some of the stuff I got to do there… it left me with more than just a queasy feeling for a few days. And now I'm back on those hunting grounds and some memories threaten to resurface. I'm not the talkative kind of guy but sometimes… I do wish I was allowed to talk about some of the CIA missions with the Major. Among my teammates, he's probably the one who would understand me best.

When I enter the main communications bullpen, I adapt the usual "I belong here, you have nothing to stare at."-stance I have learned so well and make straight for the only Captain in the room – well, lucky me that there _is_ only one. Dearing looks to be in his mid-thirties – ROTC rather than the Academy? – and pretty busy. When I reach him, he's sifting through various pieces of paper, questioning one of the Airmen in front of him about it. I don't think he'd be happy about an interruption.

However, I don't have time to worry about Captain Dearing's state of mind or mood. I come to stand beside him and make myself known by politely clearing my throat. Immediately, he whips around. "What?"

"Excuse me, sir… Major Lorne sent me to clear a few things with you." The irritated look on his face changes to wary.

"And did he say which these things were specifically?" Dammit, you were not supposed to ask that _in public_ , with personnel buzzing around us. Will not think "Officers." and inwardly roll my eyes now, will not think "Officers." and inwardly roll my eyes now, will not think "Officers." and inwardly roll my eyes now… I have to find a way to maneuver him out of the room without causing suspicion now, anyway.

People are already starting to look interested and almost subconsciously I already slipped back into the familiar mode of trying to keep an eye on my entire surroundings, scanning the personnel in the room for any strange reactions or subtle attempts at making out what this conversation about. One more reason why I quit the CIA roster: I _hated_ how it slowly made you unable to trust just about _anyone_ in your surroundings and how it made you inwardly shut yourself off from the people around you.

"Something about having trouble with estranged family members." Come on, crack it. It's not _that_ difficult to decipher. And it's supposed to be your _job_ to decipher things.

Unfortunately for a moment Dearing draws a blank – holy crap, that guy is easier to read than even Reece – but then the miracle happens and he seems to get what I'm talking about. He clears his throats and nods. "Right. If you'd just follow me to my office, Sergeant…" Good boy. There must be _some_ reason they made you an officer.

But outwardly I just nod and follow the Captain as he walks over to a door that most probably leads to the broom closets they call office here. Shortly before we arrive at the office the door to the communications center opens again… and I have _no_ idea why I look at it in exactly this moment… but a second later I already wish I hadn't.

Catalina Noruega. _First Sergeant_ Catalina Noruega. What the hell is _she_ doing here? Whatever it is, it can't be good, that much I already know. And why the hell didn't I know about this? I was so good at keeping tabs on people from… _then_. Somewhere along the way… I must have lost sight of her. Not good. Definitely not good. But most probably not related to this case. If she's here on some snoopy business it's pretty sure with the CIA, not with any other secret service… or _rogue_ secret service.

Still a good thing she didn't see me in the brief time before entering Dearing's… "office". I don't think I would have liked the look on her face, no matter how it would have looked. And anyway, I have a job to do now, as Dearing's expectant face tells me. "Well then, Sergeant… tell me everything about those… _family members_." Yeah, right. Focus on task, Sergeant, not on some long gone ex… whatever she was. I take a deep breath and finally start briefing him.

_Moore_

Oh, Kid… why couldn't you just have tossed your map into the shrubbery, gotten horribly lost, found the emergency radio and called the Beta site? What the hell made you stumble right into Corporal Rimmers' expectant arms? And what exactly happened to you when you tried to shoot him? You already had him your sights, dammit. You just had to pull the trigger and we would have had one big problem less. But _no_ , you just _had_ to have a weird spell of… _something_ and spaced out.

And now I have to deal with an unconscious you, a gloating Rimmers, a broken arm… that's gonna cost you at least a beer. Or maybe a whole _crate_ of beer. "You know, Major… I love it when a plan comes together." Oh God, and now he's quoting Hannibal Smith. Stop doing that, you idiot, you're not even half Hannibal's size.

"Wait… you actually had a _plan_? Wow. And here I thought you were just randomly abducting people." Wham. This time it's not being backhanded but a kick right against my right knee. _Fuck_. That's the one I ruined with playing basketball for the Air Force team. Did you read my whole record to know where it would hurt the most or what?

"You've got a pretty big mouth for a man in your position, Moore. I'd be careful if I was you… I might have to punish your pretty little Marine over there if you don't keep your trap shut." He means it. That much I can see. And I really don't like it. It's just not fair. Didn't she suffer enough at the hands of those rogue Marines? Okay, Moore, shut your trap, at least until she's conscious again. You know what you have to know anyway.

At least Rimmers was nice enough to share a little of his intel with me. From his jabbering and boasting and taunting I could gather that this is a carefully planned payback mission for us blowing up the rogue Marines' bio weapons slash brainwashing technology facility. I should have known that this would come back to haunt us one day… I just never expected it to happen so fast and at the Beta site of all places. But then again… that had been stupid and now I may have to pay the price, along with my young, promising and _innocent_ linguist.

For a moment I even wish Reece would just stay unconscious throughout this ordeal. I _know_ she still goes through therapy for everything that happened the _last_ time the NID put their filthy hands on her and I don't think that this here would help much with making progress. But then I see her stirring and opening her eyes. I try to communicate to her to stay down but she's too disoriented and dizzy to realize fast enough what happened and before I know it she sits up, groaning a little and putting a hand to her head.

Rimmers already saw it and flashes a toothy grin that lights even through the darkness and rain. "And there she is… the star of our show." The star? Of course. They never wanted me. They want _her_. I was just the decoy… or maybe not even planned to fall into their hands at all. "Aw, Moore, don't be too upset. You may not have been on the original guest list but in your case we might just make an exception." Ah. Yeah. Sounds great. "Or I might just shoot you and leave you here to die." Okay. That tone that just crept into his voice… gives even _me_ the creeps. Absolutely casual… with a disgusting cold edge to it. How do all these psychopaths manage to get into the SGC in the first place, huh?

"What the hell…" Kid, this is not exactly the right time to speak up, you know. And from the look on her face… she just realized that as well. "Oh… crap." Yep, that's one way to put it.

"Astoundingly profound and yet brief assessment of the situation, Lieutenant. He teach you?" Rimmers jerks his head towards me and for the first time, Reece looks at me… looking somehow guilty. For _what_? Oh right, maybe for… whatever happened to her before she could pull the trigger. I try to communicate to her that at least _this_ time I'm not mad at her – not _really_ mad, that is – but I guess it's just too dark for that kind of communication. Additionally, rain is running over both our faces, forcing us to constantly blink and shake our heads keep the water from running into our eyes… it's futile, but we can still try, right?

"No. My teachers at college did." No, please, don't try that brave little Marine thing, Kid. You _know_ how that works with guys like Rimmers. But for now, Rimmers only laughs.

"Wow, just a few months and you're already turning into a mini Moore." No, she's not. She's scared out of her pants and if you had just a bit of a brain in that head of yours you'd see that. If she was a mini-me she'd be _pissed off_ , not scared.

"Better than a brainwashed zombie." Mh. Maybe I should do a little reassessment. She _is_ pissed, at least to a certain degree. But I can also see that whatever happened that got her shot is bothering her and that she knows very well that we're not here because Rimmers felt in need of a bit of company. Obviously… I've become quite adapt at reading my linguist. Whenever did that happen?

But yeah, someone has to stop her from drawing too much attention to herself. I know I said I'd shut my trap to protect her from Rimmers… but only after I _opened_ it to protect her from _herself_. "That's enough, Lieutenant. Why don't you let someone who actually knows what he's doing handle this?" Argh. She's gonna tell Laura about this, for sure. I'm so _screwed_. However, first of all I have to take care that she'll actually _get_ to tell Laura.

Rimmers grins. "Someone who knows what he's doing… is that supposed to be you, Moore?" And with that he gives my injured arm a prod with his rifle's barrel and _holy fucking crap_. Before I know it, an unarticulated cry of pain has escaped my throat, thankfully muffled by another clap of thunder. The last thing I want now is the Kid thinking there's something threatening to break my focus. "Yeah… that's what I thought." is what Rimmers says and through the haze of pain I can see the fear in Reece's eyes grow more prominent by the minute. Just don't pass out now, Moore. Just don't… pass out.


	5. Chapter 5

**Five**

_Greenspan_

Rain drops keep falling on my head… only ten minutes and I have already forgotten how being dry feels. Trying not to look too disgruntled – I really don't want to give Evan the slightest excuse to send me back – I follow Evan and Lieutenant Strathen who's navigating us through the forest while keeping tabs on Maureen's signal.

That is… until I hear the sound of a suppressed growl from Strathen. Don't you dare tell me now… "We lost her signal, sir. _Again_." Yeah, so what? That happened four times in the last ten minutes. What's so bad about it?

Evan seems to be thinking the same thing because he just presses his lips together – a sure sign he just this short of urging the Lieutenant to get to the fucking _point_. As far as I know, Strathen hasn't been on Evan's team long and so isn't really good at reading him but before Evan can explode – and I'm sure Strathen would _not_ interpret it as exploding, at least at first – I clear my throat and say, "Is there a special problem with that, Lieutenant?" Come on, take the bridge…

"Not… _exactly_ , ma'am." God, Strathen, you idiot. And Evan, since when do you take fussbudgets on your team? I give Strathen an encouraging look… which is quite a challenge since _I_ don't feel very encouraged with all this rain pouring down. But obviously it seems to help since the Lieutenant makes another attempt, avoiding Evan's eyes. Sorry to say so, Lieutenant, but your days on Evan's team are already numbered. " _But_ we shouldn't have lost her right now. The signal only gets broken when the interference from the electric charges in the upper atmosphere…"

"The _short_ story, please, Lieutenant." Mh. Strathen must do this _really_ often for Evan to get impatient so fast. Usually, he lets his geeks ramble and filters out the important things to build up the story on his own… unlike _other_ officers I know.

Strathen keeps avoiding his eyes. I guess this really was his last mission with Evan's team. Poor Lieutenant. I'm sure he had potential. "Right, sir. We lost her. _For real_ , this time. Something – or someone – switched the signal off." Crap. Rimmers found her. Or _she_ found Rimmers.

I look at Evan and he just shakes his head. Is he trying to tell me that we don't _know_ who or what switched the signal off? "Where did we lose her, Lieutenant?" Finally, Strathen looks at Evan again, obviously gaining back a little of his self-confidence. He gives Evan the coordinates and I can barely hold back a groan. That's _miles_ away from where we are. And time is of the fucking essence right now.

"Alright." Evan throws a short look into the round – apart from the both of us and Strathen there's pretty tightlipped Captain Winslow and Lieutenant Forsberg who's usually a bag of gossipy goodness but obviously rain is just not his weather – and then nods. "Strathen, you keep watching out for that signal. The rest of you follow me and keep an eye on anything strange. There's no way Rimmers is alone here and I don't want any nasty surprises to hit us. Winslow, you take point, Greenspan, a word with you." He jerks his head and immediately Winslow takes his place and the team starts walking again. It's obvious Evan wants to talk to me out of earshot of the guys so we fall back a little.

Thankfully we don't have to keep a lot of distance since the rain and the thunder do a pretty good job of making any conversation inaudible to anyone but the people directly taking part in it. "Alright, what did I do now?" Greenspan… some days it would just be better if you kept your mouth shut. Completely.

Evan rolls his eyes. "Did anyone ever threaten to sew that mouth of yours shut?" I flutter my eyelashes at him, feigning absolute innocence. "Right, that's what I thought. Anyway… how's Reece's psychological condition? How long could she hold it up _if_ Rimmers got her?" What, do I look like Nostradamus? Okay, not exactly the best answer right now. I shrug.

"Depends on a lot of factors. Is she alone? Is Rimmers alone? Is Tom with her? Is she injured? Is _Tom_ injured? She made a lot of progress since we came back from that brain washing thing but she also still has a long way to _go_. Only thing I can say for sure is that there are no traces from the original brain washing left so we don't have to be worried about _that_. Apart from that…" I shrug again.

He nods, not really satisfied. But hey, I'm not her therapist, okay? And even if I was, I wouldn't be allowed to tell you anything anyway. "Yeah." Then he looks at me again and something of my worry must have become visible because his face changes to encouraging and understanding for a moment. "We don't even know if the disappearing of the signal is connected to Rimmers. And we're gonna find them anyway. You know that." Yeah… yeah, I know that. Only question is: Will we find them in time?

But he knows that as good as I do so I don't take the pain to remind him and simply nod. "Yeah, 'course." After that, we're back to silently trudging through the rain and I start to be glad about the rain and the thunder and the uncooperative forest surrounding because fighting against it keeps me from worrying about Tom and Maureen… well, much.

_Reece_

Yeah, thanks for passing out on me and leaving me alone with that traitor, sir. You know, it's not like he and his cronies have an account to settle with me or anything, right? I mean, okay, he kind of alluded to something like that but why should I take him serious, with that G36 on his back and the zat-gun in his hand and everything? And of course his strange penchant for hitting you where it hurts most.

Don't deny it, sir, I think it's safe to say that this prod against your arm was the cause for your little fainting spell. I'm almost tempted to say "Serves you right." just for that stupid macho "Let a man handle this."-comment but yeah… I'm clever enough to realize you were doing this on purpose, to keep me from talking myself into an early grave. Didn't help any of us much, though… but at least you tried your best.

However… it ended with you leaving me alone with that psycho over there. Can't he just stop staring and grinning at me? It's kind of… unsettling. Like he knows what awaits me and draws some secret glee from it. Or maybe he just wants to unnerve me, make me crack easier? Whatever it is, I better not open my mouth again. He seems to be that kind of guy who's quick with punishments and I don't want either me or the Major to suffer from any slips of tongue.

Okay.

Right.

That's something I should have thought of _before_ my lose tongue got the Major knocked out. Doesn't matter if it was a direct or an indirect consequence. In the end it was my potty mouth that got him the prod on the arm and the succinct pain that most probably was the reason for his fainting. So… yeah… call me "Mountain of Guilt".

And maybe also "Mountain of Stupidity". Or rather "Mountain of WTF"? I mean… what the _hell_ happened right before I could pull the trigger and probably rid me and the Major of a very pressing problem? I just know that suddenly I was in some building which looked suspiciously like that good old bio weapons facility and that I watched as some guy got shot in the head. I have _no_ idea where that came from and why it hit me in the moment it did.

I mean, my therapist told me I might have flashbacks in the strangest moments. But to have flashbacks of something I should have actually _experienced_ it, right? And I _definitely_ didn't experience _blowing someone's head off_. My teammates didn't say anything about it and I'm fairly sure my memories from that wretched mission are complete now. So what…

Oh… wait. Did the Major just stir? And groan? Rimmers seems to think so, at least, since he comes over and crouches down beside the Major. I warn you, Corporal… don't get violent again, for your own safety. Honestly, there's only so much violence the Major is able to take before he becomes violent himself. And when he does… it's not a pretty sight to see.

"I always knew zoomies were pussies." Idiot. Maybe most of them _are_ – they don't call it the Chair Force for nothing – but this one definitely isn't. Take it from a fellow Marine. "Honestly, Moore… fainting like a debutante from a little poke in the arm. That's beyond shameful."

For a moment, the Major keeps quiet and I'm tempted to reply something but then, as if on cue, the Major saves me from my mouth again. "Whoever said I _really_ fainted? You didn't even try and see if I was out of it. That's what I call fucking _sloppy_ , Marine." Impressive. I'm _positive_ he _was_ out of it and that he's just guessing. And he guessed _right_. However… he made one mistake.

"With all due respect… I'd prefer it if you wouldn't call Rimmers a Marine, sir." Both heads whip around to me and stare at me, a little surprised. What, am I not allowed to have some Corps pride?

And yeah, judging from the look on Rimmers' face that wasn't exactly a clever thing to say but at least it got him off the Major's back for a few more moments… although I was sorely tempted not to do anything, just for that stupid macho comment from before. But yeah, there will still be time to get back at him for that later and besides… I do feel offended at someone like Rimmers being given the honor of being called a Marine. "Some people, you know, would prefer it if _you_ wouldn't be called a Marine." Yeah, great, and here we go again.

Before I can answer, though, I catch the Major shaking his head no, with an even pleading look in his eyes. What the hell? How do you expect me to react to _that_ , huh? And it's not like _you_ haven't made similar comments in the past, sir. Granted, not since we came back from the bio weapons mission, but still… I want to open my mouth and say what's on my mind anyway, but the Major shakes his head again, his face betraying how every movement is filled with pain because of the arm that's still untended to and I realize that we have some much more pressing problems than my injured pride.

Well then… that obviously means I have to give the whole offended honor thing a rest and focus a little on what's more important: Taking care of the Major's arm. It will also hopefully get me off thinking about whatever made me faint. I take a deep breath. "Yeah, maybe. And since _you_ are so proficient in the art of being a Marine, you should also know that Corps honor dictates not to let prisoners suffer unnecessarily." Mh. That was really brave, Reece. Maybe just a bit _too_ brave, judging from the Major's exasperated eye rolling.

Rimmers grins at me and that really doesn't look comforting. "What, you mean I should just shoot the good Major here?" What? No, no, no! Just fucking great, Reece, now look what you got yourself and the Major into.

I take another deep breath and try to stay rational. It wouldn't do any of us good if I'd panic now. "No, I suggest you let me treat his arm. You know as good as I that he won't be much of a threat with his arm in a sling but what you _don't_ know is that he'll be much easier to be around once the pain he's in has been reduced to an inevitable minimum." Mh… I'm not quite sure what that look on the Major's face means. Either it's absolute surprise at my sudden ability to take charge in a situation I would have totally screwed up just a few months ago – which would mirror my _own_ sentiments right now – or it's irritation at the rather casual way I just talked about my CO. Let's just all hope it's the former.

Rimmers also seems a little… surprised at my suggestion – that makes three of us, then – and says, "You know, it's a pity I'm not alone in this." It is? Would have never guessed. "If I was, I'd just screw your suggestion and shoot the bastard anyway." The bastard does not look very pleased at being called so by a lowly Marine corporal… _ex_ -Marine corporal. I start to hope for Rimmers' sake that the Major won't ever get a chance to get his hands on him. "However, I guess I'd get in trouble with a few people even more unsocial than that guy, so… go ahead, Florence." He just jerks his head over to the Major.

Now suddenly abandoned by my bravery, I throw a look to the Major and thankfully he realizes that I could do with his approval now as he nods his head, a little resignedly. Regarding Rimmers with wary looks I make my way over to the Major and crouch down in front of him. For a moment, it looks like he'll give me a wigging for overstepping my boundaries, placing us both in danger with my forwardness and of course for not being able to shoot Rimmers when I had the chance in the first place. But after a moment he just nods and sets his jaw, ready to deal with whatever painful procedure it will need to get his arm braced and in a sling.

I take a moment to get a good look at his arm and wish again Laura was here. Even to my eyes it looks like a complicated fracture that could result in permanent damage if treated incorrectly. But it _has_ to be treated or it will _definitely_ end in permanent damage for the Major. I turn back to Rimmers to tell him I need to go looking for some stick to use as a splint but before I get to do it, the Major manages to tell me during a violent crash of thunder, "Prod the arm and pretend you're doing some examination."

What the…? Okay, that's his "Don't ask, just do it."-face and you shouldn't mess with him when he's wearing that so I start doing what he tells me. He gives the appropriate groans and glares and when another thunder sounds through the forest, he says barely audible, "Kid… in your pack… emergency radio."

It catches me off-guard enough that I can't help staring at him and saying, "Really?"

He rolls his eyes. Typical. And even though he tries to keep his voice down, I can hear the slight irritation, "Yeah. Didn't think we'd send you out here with faulty equipment and not give you something to call for help if things went down the drain, right?"

Again, my mouth is faster than my brain and I catch myself answering, "Actually… I thought it was more of something along the lines of 'We trust you to mess it up so we put in precautions.'."

And then he _really_ surprises me by actually putting his good hand briefly on my forearm and whispering, sounding honest, "Just for the record: We never thought you'd mess up. And up to now… you haven't."

At that I'm at a loss for words – not an easy feat to accomplish once someone has managed to break me out of my shell, and despite everything he _has_ managed that – but before I can gather my wits, Rimmers decides to step in again. "Hey, you love birds, get it over with, will ya? We'll have to move soon, if we don't want to miss our pick-up."

Love birds? What the…? Wait, no, shove that out of the way, Lieutenant. Don't even _think_ about pondering that one.

It's just… _love birds_? Honestly… that's all kinds of stupid and preposterous and just plain… wrong on so many levels. Really…

I feel an unfriendly cuff at my arm and the Major simply mouths "Focus, Lieutenant." Yeah, right. Focus. I turn around to Rimmers.

"Just asking a few questions I needed for the treatment." Don't add "If that is alright with you, your Highness," don't add "If that is alright with you, your Highness," don't add "If that is alright with you, your Highness."… I clear my throat and swallow down all the other insolent answers I had ready. "Anyway, don't freak now. I'll just move over there to find a splint, right."

Rimmers doesn't really look like he actually _liked_ that announcement but he still drawls, "Yeah, whatever. Go ahead," and gestures with the G36 in the direction I just pointed – the place where he carelessly threw my pack, instead of throwing it away like he obviously did with the Major's. Why is it that everyone keeps underestimating me, huh? Oh right, because I fainted before pulling the trigger. Yeah. Good point.

Keeping him in my sights the whole time I carefully get up and trudge over to the pack… three steps… two steps… "Hey, keep your fingers off that pack." Aw, fuck. His face changes from something between bored and irritated to wary and his finger creeps towards the trigger. Suddenly the atmosphere is charged again, and not because of the incessant lightening that keeps going on. Think, Reece, _think_.

I can't help throwing the Major a look again and he does not look… happy. Almost a bit like he's really… _worried_ for me. Fucking cold and fucking rain and fucking lightening making me see things and stuff. Alright, so… how to solve this whole thing? Oh… oh, yeah. "Uh… sorry. I was just… I need to look through it to see if I can use anything in there as a sling or a splint." Rimmers doesn't look convinced. Yeah, I wouldn't be, either. "Look, I may not be the world's brightest soldier but I _am_ clever enough not to do anything stupid when someone points a gun at me."

Come on, swallow it. And don't remember now that you obviously didn't search the thing since it looks soaking wet but otherwise untouched. Which actually makes me wonder… how could such an idiot like you manage to capture two members of a Black Ops team, one of them top in his fields and a seasoned Black Ops and Special Ops officer?

Anyway… I don't have any more time to ponder that since he gave me a reluctant nod and I start opening the pack and digging around. Okay, if I was an evil masterm… I mean, a Special Forces Major bent on making a survival exercise as hard as possible for my only Marine team member but not wanting her to actually bite the bullet… where would I hide the emergency radio? I rummage around, wishing the packs were 100% watertight because it's just… all kinds of icky to dig through soaked clothing, food and equipment… and… _jackpot_.

Let's just hope now that the Major and Major Lorne had enough sense of decency not to go for my underwear. They might be grown man in their early thirties but I just _know_ that some guys just never grow up. So… yeah, best snatch the next best thing of clothing you could use as a sling and hide the radio… done. Trying to look totally inconspicuous – and hoping that the radio is more watertight than the pack – I get up again and edge towards the Major again. Well, then, Lieutenant… on to the gruesome task of splinting that fracture… even though the Major will hate you for sure after that.


	6. Chapter 6

**Six**

_DeLisle_

Dammit, this isn't good. Been looking through communication protocols, duty rosters and watch plans for two hours now and still no clue as to who could be the evil mastermind behind Rimmers here. It all looks like it's adding up; I can't find traces of forgery. But from what the guys in the armory could tell me, Rimmers doesn't seem to be the type of person to stage something like this on his own… and it wouldn't make any sense, anyway.

If his target was really Reece or the Major or _any_ of us, he'd have to have some back up on the base, someone who keeps security and the MP off his back long enough that he can execute whatever they have planned… well, most likely an _execution_.

God, DeLisle, get a grip. This really isn't the time to slip back into your gallows humor habit from your CIA times. It's not the right time to fall back into _any_ bad habits from that time… and that includes thinking of Catalina… First Sergeant Noruega. But ever since I saw her briefly in the communications hut, I just can't stop.

There's a reason why she's here and I doubt it's good one. Trust me, that woman appearing on any scene… is never a good sign. But I should stop that, since she's not my target. She's still CIA for sure and probably here for some shady business but not the shady business _I_ 'm interested in.

I sigh. This will get me nowhere. I need to rethink my strategy, shift my focus… but to where? Leaning back in my seat, I rub my eyes, feeling fatigue already setting in. I must be getting old… and I feel an odd irritation coming up at the realization that I might have lost my mojo, even despite all the rambling against the CIA of these past couple hours. I'm missing something, I'm sure of that. But _what_? With a low groan, I lean forward again, concentrating on the computer screen again… No, it's no use continuing to sit here. I need to get up and _move_ , if I want to get thinking again.

After carefully shutting down the laptop as not to leave behind any traces Rimmers' accomplice – or accomplices – could use to find _me_ I get up, looking all casual as if I am just walking over to the commissary to grab a quick bite and walk past Captain Dearing, only indicating with a short nod that I'll be back in a few.

I think… I think a walk to Rimmers' quarters is in order. I've been there before but just for a visit of a few minutes because I didn't want to raise suspicions and already send his co-conspirators into a frenzy that someone was already on their trail. Guess it's time for a second visit now because _something_ tells me I might find some answers in there… let's just hope it's not grasping for the last straw.

When I reach the communications hut's door I can barely hold back cursing. It's still raining cats and dogs and Rimmers' quarters are in the quarters' section… which is at least ten huts away from here. Just fucking great. But then again, all my teammates are currently out in that weather, so complaining or even avoiding is really not an option at all.

Resigned to my fate, I leave the communications hut and sprint through rain and mud, positive that I'll look like the swamp thing after that escapade. And yeah, when I finally arrive… I even have specks of mud on my _face_. Wiping them off I stalk through the building, pretending I don't mind soaked through BDUs or mud-stained boots.

Okay, so according to the plan third door from here should be Rimmers'… "My, my, if that isn't Sergeant DeLisle… nosing around for some officer or other, I'm sure." Startled I look up. Cata… Sergeant Noruega again. For a moment the whole thing has me actually speechless. And yeah, my momentary hesitation makes her smirk just a little bit. Like she used to whenever she detected a weakness in her opponent – and for Catalina _everyone_ was an opponent. Obviously, some things never change.

I can barely refrain from clearing my throat. "Sergeant Noruega." For some reason I can't bring myself to call her by the name I used to call her… _back then_.

"Why, yes, I'm happy to see you, too, Simon." The smirk stays in place and like always I'm almost amazed at the fact that – unlike in other women – it does nothing to mar her quite pleasant face. Tali… Noruega was always nice to look at and she still is… but I'm almost relieved it doesn't have the same effect on me anymore. Huh. Who would have thought there was something good about having a bit of a crush – and it really isn't more than that – on your team's medic?

However… I have to reply something even though the last thing I want to do now is having a casual talk with a former… whatever. "Sorry, Sergeant, I'm… a bit busy. Maybe another time?"

There, that was polite enough, wasn't it? I mean, she _is_ senior rank here. "What, no time for a little chat with an old friend?" I'm just _this_ close to snorting. Old friend, my ass. Whatever thing we were, _friends_ was _not_ among the descriptions. And I've got a job to do. Preferably without Noruega getting wind of it.

"Excuse me, ma'am. I've got my orders." She rolls her eyes. Come on; let me go already, will you?

"Sure you do. You always have orders that keep you from _other_ things. Guess you're still a lost case, then. Pity." She shrugs nonchalantly but there's something strange shining through for a moment. Still bitter over how we ended things, Tali? Well then, I've got news for you: It always takes two to tango. I'm starting to get fed up with this game.

"If you say so." She rolls her eyes again. Yeah… she always liked to do that. A _lot_. But obviously she saw that my resolve won't falter today, so she takes a few steps towards me, obviously bent on passing me by. However… when she's almost right beside me… she leans in to me, too fast for me to react without it looking awkward and stupid.

"If you change your mind… I'm sure you know where to find me." Right into my ear she whispers it. Ah, so she hasn't lost that little theatrical streak, either. I don't react because if she does things like that she doesn't _want_ you to react. So I take another unmoving moment until I'm sure she's finally gone and then move on to Rimmers' room, making sure no one else sees me entering.

I take a short look around then go straight for the laptop on the desk. What I wouldn't give to have the Major here right now. I'm not bad at wading through stacks of data but the Major… he's a whiz. He'd have found whatever we're looking for in no time but alas… he's somewhere out there freezing his ass off in the rain while I'm here nice and dry. Let's see what I can get from this thing.

_Moore_

Where's that crate of painkillers they keep in the infirmary when you need it? God, I think I'm gonna faint any minute. And when did Reece turn into such a confident soldier? I mean, it could be the pain and the dark and the rain but… I do have the feeling that her hands aren't shaking and her breathing is pretty even while she works on some twigs to build a splint under the watchful eyes of our captor.

But then she looks at me shortly and… okay, I know this sounds stupid, but the apprehension and tension in her eyes when she looks at me for a moment give me an odd sense of comfort because it means that I'm still the one she relies on for orders and assurance. Basically… well, that I'm still the one in charge.

Yeah, now, wouldn't _that_ be funny? My little linguist turning tables on me and becoming the boss here. No way that is gonna happen, not even… "I know you're gonna hate me after this, sir, but you know… I have to do it." I blink.

She's crouching in front of me again, looking like she's more afraid of _me_ than of Rimmers. Yep… that makes my world right again. "I know, Kid. Be gentle, huh." Good _God_ , and here I thought my _arm_ was messed up. But at least that little wisecrack made her grin, just for a moment. After looking _horrified_ , that is. Maybe it _would_ be better for all of us if I just passed out from pain again.

"Right, sir." With that she sets to work and I have to draw upon my whole strength not to let it show through how big the strain is that this is taking on me. I'm almost thankful to Rimmers for annoying me with his arrogant grins and "accidentally" waving around his fucking G36 because it serves to fuel my irritation and downright anger and thus keeps me awake.

Reece works meticulously and I can see that she's as unhappy as I am about having to prod and move the arm. After a few unsuccessful tentative tries she growls and picks up something from the ground… that is promptly shoved into my mouth. What the…? "I guess you know the drill, sir?"

Actually… I do. She just gave me a piece of wood to bite on in case the pain gets too bad. Wow. Someone obviously paid attention to her first aid classes. And someone knows it's going to get ugly. Oh well. "Hey, are you gonna get done in the next ten minutes or what? We're kind of on a schedule here." Idiot. Just shut the fuck up and let my Lieutenant work, will you?

Seems like something like that just went through Kid's head as well and before I can spit out the piece of wood and stop her from doing anything about the comment she says, without even turning around, "I'd be done if you wouldn't interrupt me." Her voice was tight and… did I just see a tremor in her hand? Damn, I just want my linguist away from that guy.

"Watch your mouth, little screw-up." Her grip on piece of wood she wanted to use as a splint tightens and she takes a deep breath. This guy gets to her, and not only because he keeps pointing a gun at her. I've seen it happen before when _I_ 'd been stupid enough to trample on her Marine pride.

After another moment of trying to rein it in, she can't resist saying, "It's still _Lieutenant_ Little Screw-up." Shut up, Kid, _shut the fuck up_. This is _not_ the place to come out of that shell of yours and _show_ that you have a backbone instead of letting people discover it on their own. Yeah, well, and it's also _not_ the place to be _proud_ of your little Marine, Moore.

"Right then, watch your mouth, _Lieutenant_ Little Screw-up. Trust me; you don't wanna be here when I lose my patience." Reece looks a lot like _Rimmers_ wouldn't want to be here when _she_ loses her patience but I finally make eye-contact and force her to keep quiet. I'm sure she'll get back at me for that but I'm still her boss and I still don't want either of us getting killed because of some deluded kid with a twitchy finger.

So instead of answering she grits her teeth and gets to work again, this time going through with it. And hell I do _need_ that piece of wood. _God_ … Work quicker, dammit, fucking get it over with! Argh! I can't hold back a groan and she seems to have noticed it, even despite the thunder and the rain. It's almost cute how she manages to mouth "Sorry." while continuing to torture me.

Finally she gets to apply the sling… but before she ties it around my neck… I feel something shoved into the splint… something sleek and cool… and sharp. _One of my knives_. Good God! How the hell did she manage _that_? And to top it off, she flashes her other hand to show me she has the radio up her sleeve. Whoa. I search for her eyes try to show her my appreciation – it _is_ still rare that she gets openly praised by me and I guess it'll always stay like that so I want her to see it – and when I do get her to look at me I get back a little smile that has a… cocky edge to it. Mh, someone knows she just proved to be a very resourceful Marine.

Then she ties the sling around my neck and I manage to get through it without fainting. When she takes the piece of wood out of my mouth I just have to ask, embarrassingly enough panting between words, "Where the hell… did you learn… to splint an arm like that?"

She gives me something that looks suspiciously like a smirk. "In case you've forgotten, sir… I live with a medic. Something _might_ have rubbed off on me."

It makes me grin. "Huh. Whoever thought letting you move in with Laura would prove to be a _good_ thing."

Before she can answer though, Rimmers decides to barge in again. Damn, that guy is starting to become a _real_ nuisance. "You done? Alright… get ready to move out in the next five minutes. We're almost overdue already." Overdue for _what_? Or maybe for whom… Kid looks at me, asking for my orders – good to know I'm still not the only one considering me to be the boss here – and I nod ever so slightly. She stands up again, to face Rimmers.

"Alright. Ready when you are." Satisfaction crosses his face.

"Get that good for nothing zoomie up and get moving then." She turns back to me and extends her hand to me. A little awkwardly, I take it and try to get up. Not exactly easy with one arm in a sling… and damn, that hit on my knee must have been harder than I thought. Or am I just getting old? Must make sure that none of this gets through to Lorne and Williamson. They're gonna have a field day with it otherwise.

He levels his G36 at us again, indicating the direction in which we're supposed to walk. Or… limp, in my case. Yeah, well, off we go.


	7. Chapter 7

**Seven**

_Greenspan_

Geez, is it just me or are we… running around in circles? I'm pretty sure I've seen that rock over there before. I throw a look at Winslow and Forsberg who keep trudging through the rain and then to Evan, trying to catch his attention. Something isn't right here; at least that's what my gut tells me.

But he doesn't react so I turn my eyes to Strathen who has _his_ eyes firmly on his signal… thingy. Every two steps or something he manages to trip over something on the ground but considering he doesn't take that many looks at his surroundings he's doing remarkably well. Well… if it wasn't about the slight inconvenience of not getting _anywhere_ , that is. Seriously, am I the only one seeing it?

And… wait… am I the only one who just saw _something_ flicker on that little thing in Strathen's hand? I'm pretty sure it wasn't a trick of the steadily coming lightening but a real change. A new blip appeared and it had a different color. However… Strathen doesn't seem inclined to _tell_ us about it… or hasn't he seen it yet? No… no, he's… _hiding_ it from his commanding officer and the rest of the team, all senior to him.

Uh…

 _Fuck_.

This can't be an unlucky coincidence. I've had to do too much with the NID and the rogue Marines to underestimate them, at least this time. After everything that happened to us I'm suddenly _positive_ that _Strathen_ is Rimmers' accomplice. Or _one_ of Rimmers' accomplices. Now I just have to find a way of convincing Evan that I'm not seeing ghosts. Without Strathen noticing anything. Dammit, I'm a _doctor_ not a goddamn spy, Jim. Tom. Whoever.

Anyway, trying to catch Evan's eyes ag… "Strathen?" Nope, doesn't sound very pleased, our good Major Lorne. Could it be… I _haven't_ been the only one noticing we're not really getting anywhere?

"Yes, sir?" If I hadn't seen that blip… I'd still believe Strathen was just a little beside himself and not fit for duty on an SG team but otherwise an average soldier. For a moment… I'm not quite sure if I'm seeing things indeed. But then I see Evan motioning us to halt and… slightly shifting his G36, with his finger creeping a little closer to the trigger and the muzzle pointing just a little more… towards Strathen. And now I also notice that the way Winslow and Forsberg have positioned themselves is everything but coincidental. Wow… surely takes some really rigid training to get your people this far. Have to talk to Tom about this.

"Would you mind stopping leading us on a wild goose chase here and actually get us somewhere _useful_?" He's said in it a totally casual tone, even conversationally but one must be really daft to not hear the menacing undertones.

"Well, sir, I'm not sure… I…" Impressive. Even now he still tries to play at being innocent. He _nearly_ had me fooled… if he hadn't tried to shield his signal detector from Evan's eyes.

Evan must have seen it as well as he raises the G36 a little further and trains it a little more accurately on Strathen. "Lieutenant… I'd strongly recommend you to hand the detector over to Lieutenant Forsberg and then dispose of your weapons. _All_ of them." And by "strongly recommend" he means 'That's a fucking _order_ , Lieutenant.'

Strathen seems to realize that his cover obviously has been blown. "And if I don't?" Why, is that a sign of dangerous desperation? Let's sure hope not since nobody could be as stupid as to try anything when being outnumbered four to one.

And yeah, that was the wrong thing to say for him since now Evan and the guys have openly trained their weapons at him, with me following suit just a moment later. "I'm sure you know the consequences of _that_ , Lieutenant. Now, weapons on the ground, detector to Forsberg, hands in the air. Move it."

Very, very carefully Strathen puts his G36 to the ground, pulls the Beretta out of his holster and puts it beside the G36. He gets up again, showing us his empty hands but Evan doesn't seem very convinced. " _All_ your weapons, Lieutenant." He's starting to get really annoyed and I just bet that part of annoyance is directed at himself for letting Strathen fool him for so long about his real allegiance. Evan always prided himself in being really good at reading people and looking behind their façade and this must irritate the hell out of him.

Strathen allows himself a rolling of his eyes and Forsberg's and Winslow's fingers just creep a little closer to their triggers. The traitor seems to have seen it and grits his teeth, unsheathing his knife and pulling something from inside his left boot. After a few more – precious – minutes and a few… strange hiding places Strathen straightens up and smirks. "All done… sir." The way he just said that… _Tom_ would have rammed his muzzle right down Strathen's throat for that tone. Evan just nods over to Winslow.

"Search him. I don't trust the rat." And he trusts _himself_ even less anymore that much I can see. I can also see that Winslow is just _this_ close to remind Evan that time is of the essence now but that he thinks better of it and starts methodically searching Strathen who makes a show of being slightly bored. If I were you, boy… I wouldn't overdo it. Evan might have a long fuse… but once it's burned up, the damage is usually considerable.

Once Winslow is done, Strathen finally gives his detector to Forsberg who takes a look at it and… looks like he can't trust his eyes for a moment. Then he looks at Evan. "Sir… the detector can't find either of the two implants… but it says it found another signal that it can't assign to anyone or anything. Looks like… a radio signal." Mh… does that look on Strathen's face say that this was something he certainly did _not_ count on to happen?

Evan looks at Forsberg, thoughtful, Strathen momentarily forgotten. Then he says, "Tune that thing to another frequency." He gives Forsberg a few numbers, Forsberg does as he is told… et voila, at least accounting to the expression on his face.

"Got it, sir. It's a radio alright." Relief and a little bit of satisfaction appears on Evan's face.

"That's Lieutenant Reece's emergency radio. Follow the signal but don't call her. Winslow, make a nice package out of the little rat here. Forsberg, you go to the front, Greenspan right behind him, Winslow, you and I guard the package. Let's go." Ah yeah, the joys of seeing one of the Academy's finest – at least in _his_ class – in action. But good to know that we _finally_ have a track we can actually follow.

_DeLisle_

I don't like this. I really, really don't like this. But yeah, maybe finding _something_ is still better than finding _nothing_. Anyway… if I read this e-mail correctly… Laura might be in trouble. Well, Laura and Major Lorne and basically the rest of the team… apart from Strathen because he might be the one _causing_ the trouble. I'm not worried. No… no, I'm not. I'm just a little… okay, I've got a bad, bad, _bad_ feeling about this and the thought of Laura probably not knowing who it is that's accompanying them makes me… _almost_ sick.

I know I should contact them but if I do – if I even get through the chaos of that thunderstorm outside – I might get them into more trouble than they are in right now. And the odds are still four on one _and_ the team is led by Major Evan Lorne so she should be fine.

So now that I found out who's Rimmers' accomplice my work here should be done since he's out there and setting out all on my own would be stupid and probably also against orders. What do I do now? Lean back, enjoy the sights and wait until my team mates are back?

I think… not. Something tells me… there's more to it so I decide to dig deeper, even on the danger of raising suspicions in Captain Dearing. But then again… I had the distinct feeling that he wasn't _that_ disappointed to see me leave earlier. So I go through Rimmers' last e-mails, each and everyone.

He's been very careful with the rest of his stuff but the fact that I found one from Strathen – a guy he shouldn't have had to do anything with, since there should have been really _no_ connection between them – in the whole bunch tells me this might be his weak point. There has to be _something_ in here… I check Strathen's e-mail again because I realize it was something in there that gave me the feeling that it wasn't over for me yet.

Very carefully – even more carefully than the last time – I read it again… and yes, there it is. _Give my regards to our dear three letter girl._ What – or rather _who_ – the hell did he mean by that? Has to be someone on the Beta site since Strathen was in the SGC when he wrote that. There aren't many women here… in fact, if I recall it correctly from the list Dearing gave me access to, there are only five women here. Two Marines, three Air Force… and one of them one First Sergeant Catalina Noruega… who had worked – or is still working – for the CIA.

No. No, I'm seeing ghosts here. Seriously, I'm jumping to conclusions. I'm not being rational now. The only reason she springs to my mind first is that I was rattled up by her presence and by the fact that I had no idea I would meet her here. There's a perfectly sensible explanation as to why she's here and it's most probably something that hasn't anything to do with the NID or the rogue Marines or anything else remotely close to the case I'm working on. It's just a coincidence that she's here.

Okay.

Right.

Who am I trying to kid?

If there's one thing you _can't_ say about Catalina Noruega it's that she appears in a spot of trouble by coincidence. She's got a nose for trouble and usually, if she is at a spot of trouble, she's got her hands in it and _deep_. Should have known that the first moment I saw her… or at least the moment I met her in the corridor outside Rimmers' quarters.

Alright, so I know that "three letter girl" could be some very, very intricate code for something that has _nothing_ to with Noruega, not even with a person at _all_ but my instincts tells me I'm on the right track. And I would have been dead a few hundred times over if I hadn't learned to trust my instincts a long time ago.

Okay, Sergeant, it's time to get moving again. Ten to one that _she_ 's the head of this little NID op and like hell I'll let her get away with it. This is really the last time she _ever_ gets in my way and this is personal now. Before it was usually only professional but if she did her homework right – and she always does her homework right – she knew from the beginning whose team it was she would be trying to harm. We're done, Noruega. For good, now.

Deliberately I set off two of the traps Rimmers – or Noruega – installed on his laptop, shut it down and ready myself for a little cat and mouse game. Let's see what it takes to kick Noruega's survival instincts into full gear and if she changed her strategy or if she still does everything by her book. I'll have to watch my back now twice as carefully as when I started this but this is worth it. _No one_ does something like this to _my_ team.


	8. Chapter 8

**Eight**

_Moore_

Crap, crap, crap. Stupid arm, stupid knee, stupid Rimmers. I'll kill him. Seriously, I'll kill the bastard the moment I get the chance to. And then I'll kill Reece for not killing him when _she_ had the chance to.

Okay.

No.

 _That_ was probably my fault. After careful and extensive consideration I came to the conclusion that her little fainting spell… was the result of a flashback. A very _special_ flashback. One I could have prevented _if I had fucking told her about her shooting a guy in the head_. I guess that if Rimmers doesn't kill me, _Laura_ definitely will. But only if she gets to me before _Reece_ does. Aw, fuck. Guess I'm a dead man any way you look at it.

"Sir?" I look up into Reece's wet face and I… don't like the look in her eyes. Until now she's been holding up amazingly well but now that Rimmers is walking behind us and can't see her face, there's a note of worry in it I really don't like. I simply nod, not wanting to draw more attention to us by speaking. "Permission to ask a question?" I nod again. Just fucking do it. "Earlier… when I… you know… before Rimmers saw me." _Fuck_. I knew it. I _am_ a dead man. "I… I had this… you know, you're probably gonna peg me as a nutcase but… I think I had some kind of hallucination."

Oh. Oh, wait… a hallucination? Not a flashback? This is getting better and better. "Kid, I don't think this is the right…"

She looks back to check if Rimmers is still busy with fighting his way through the underbrush and then turns back to me, obviously anxious to say her piece. "No, sir, I want you to know about this. I saw myself pumping a bullet into someone's head and I'm pretty sure that this was _not_ a memory since I'm positive I never did _that_ before."

Okay, it _was_ a flashback. The one we all didn't want her to have and the one it was _my_ duty to prevent. I'm such an _idiot_. And now I have a little Lieutenant on my hands who thinks she's starting to go insane after all and who did an amazing job of holding back until now but finally starting to crack. Think, Moore, _think_.

Well… I don't think it would do us any good if I'd started to explain to her now that she didn't have a hallucination and why nobody told her about this particular event on our last mission so I make a decision that will probably get me killed if nothing else here does. "Look, Kid… just focus on the mission now."

She swallows. Kid, what did you expect me to do? This is the closest I'll probably _ever_ come to holding your hand, putting my arms around you and telling you everything's gonna be alright. You _know_ I'm not the touchy-feely kind of CO so don't expect any of that from me… and most of all not in the middle of a hostage situation where _we_ are the hostages. "Yes, sir."

And that's all. Rimmers – who doesn't seem to be on very friendly terms with this planet's underbrush – didn't even have to interrupt us this time. She only says "Yes, sir," and is silent again, trudging beside me through the rain, not even looking at me again. Just. Fucking. Great. _And why the hell can't that fucking arm stop bothering me_?

_Greenspan_

Thank God Maureen – I _hope_ it was Maureen – finally found the emergency radio and got it running somehow. At least we're closing in on them fast, even though they started moving a while ago. I guess they're still with Rimmers. Otherwise I'm pretty sure we would have heard from them by now and that's the only thing that keeps me worried.

At least Winslow and Evan take care that Strathen keeps his filthy traitor trap shut. Right now I'm not sure how exactly I would react if he'd start spouting the kind of nonsense rogue Marines and NID agents – and now obviously also rogue Airmen – usually like to give us. Which is probably one of the reasons Evan is so no-nonsense about Strathen shutting up. Yeah, well… _I_ wouldn't want to deal with myself in case he didn't either.

I look at Forsberg again and he knows me well enough to know what I'm about to enquire of him. "A mile and closing in, ma'am. If we keep this pace, we should reach them in about 30 minutes." That's a _very_ optimistic guess but I'll give Forsberg credit for trying to cheer me up… even if he probably only did it because he's mighty afraid of needles and _knows_ not to draw a physician's wrath onto him.

"Thanks, Lieutenant." That _should_ have been the only exchange for the next 30 minutes but obviously Evan is also starting to lose his patience.

"Pick up some speed, Strathen, will you? I'm sure we can do it in _under_ 30 minutes." I turn around to see Strathen try a sneer at Evan but the muzzle of Winslow's G36 coming dangerously close to his shoulders keeps him from doing it. Fucking coward. God, will I be happy if this is all over and I won't have to see him _ever_ again. I usually don't hold grudges for very long… except when someone tries to hurt my friends.

And so we do pick up speed. Actually… Evan finally gives the order to break out into a run when Forsberg suddenly tells us the signal has started moving _towards_ us. Boy oh boy am I glad that… "You fucking _bastard_!" What the hell… I want to turn around but don't get to since someone just knocked me over and… oh _crap_.


	9. Chapter 9

**Nine**

_Reece_

"You fucking _bastard_!"

What the hell… where did _that_ come from? That wasn't… another hallucination, right? Because it sounded distinctly like a very, very, _very_ agitated Major Lorne. Agitated enough to bellow loudly enough that it manages to sound through the forest, over the rain coming down still hard.

But no, it can't be a hallucination because the Major's head whipped around just like mine did… and Rimmers'. "Reece, _down_!" What… not even getting as far as questioning the order, I simply let myself fall to the ground the same moment Rimmers whips around again and starts firing at us immediately. I manage to roll to the side but I still feel a cutting pain ripping my left upper arm. Not caring about _anything_ I start crawling away from the bullets still coming in my direction… and suddenly it's quiet again.

I dare to lift my head… and see Rimmers lying on the ground, the Major's knife sticking out of his throat, his body unmoving. A little disbelieving I turn around… and see the Major who's also on the ground, half-sitting, facing away from me, clutching his right forearm and swearing like a trooper. Seriously, I've heard the Major swear a lot over the past months but not like _this_ … okay, should probably go over there and give him a hand…

"Kid!" he calls out and it sounds _really_ worried.

As fast as I can I scramble up, ignoring the pain in my arm and try to get over to him. "I'm here, sir."

He turns to me, wants to say something… and ends up calling, "His gun, Kid!" the moment I hear someone to my right breaking through the underbrush with full force. Giving up thinking once again I don't even look to my right, simply dive to Rimmers' side and manage to pry his Beretta lose. Purely on instinct I finally turn around, see someone – _Lieutenant Strathen_? – charging at me with a face that does _not_ look like he's here to _help_ me… and pull the Beretta's trigger.

Just a moment – or maybe also an eternity, I really don't know – later I hear additional firing coming from the same direction Strathen broke into the clearing we're at and I see him falling to ground, almost as if in slow motion.

I have to stare so hard at him that at first I don't even realize that… _Laura_ knelt down beside me and immediately started treating whatever makes my arm hurt so much. As if in a daze I blink and look at her… and another groan from the direction of the Major snaps me finally back to reality. "Laura… the Major… he's got…"

"I'll take care of him in just a minute, Maureen." I shake my head furiously. No, no, _not_ in a minute.

"Now, Laura. Arm's broken, at least. Looked ugly." She wants to keep on treating _my_ arm but dammit, I'm _okay_. "I'm fine, Laura," I tell her stubbornly and try to shake her off.

However, it takes an intervention from someone else to get her off my back. "We need you over here, Laura. Looks like he's gonna pass out any minute." Oh. Major Lorne. Well… that probably explains Lieutenant Strathen… or maybe not. Quite frankly… I don't care anymore. All _I_ want now is a hot bath and a nice, comfortable, warm bed… I'd even take one in the infirmary. Mmmh…

"Fine. But someone get their ass over here to take care of this graze shot." She looks at me again. "Promise me not to pass out right now?" I nod. Yeah, I think I can do that… although the graze on my arm is slowly starting to get _really_ annoying. "Good. Keep it up until we're back at the Beta site, right?" I nod again and she gets up, albeit reluctantly. Only then… do I finally realize that it's _over_ … and for some reason I start to shiver and it has _nothing_ to do with the cold and the rain and the dark. How fucking _embarrassing_.

_Moore_

_God_ … either I'm growing old… or some strange pollen on that planet makes me react like a pussy. But damn, does that arm _hurt_. At least I don't seem to have acquired just another gunshot wound when I let myself fall to the ground while burying my knife in Rimmers' filthy throat. And dammit, I'm _not_ going to pass out any minute, Lorne. I'm about to tell him so but he only gets up and suddenly Laura crouches down beside me. Oh goody, _someone_ had the sense to bring my medic along for the ride. However, whoever it was… I'll have to shoot him later. _No one_ endangers my medic except me.

I want to say something but she starts examining the arm immediately, giving me _almost_ too much pain to handle. Noticing my _slight_ discomfort, she stops her examination and starts rummaging around her medic bag. "I take it you'll never again bitch about me letting Maureen move in with me?"

Ah yeah, that's the Laura I know… always getting straight to the point. But now that she reminded me of Reece… I try to sit up a little straighter against the tree stump Lorne and Winslow have propped me up against and find out where Reece is. She was right in the line of fire when Rimmers started pumping bullets into the scenery and… God, where _is_ she?

I take a deep breath while Laura is preparing a syringe, hopefully full of that wonderful painkiller stuff. "Kid… she okay?"

Laura nods, but doesn't move aside. Oh God, something happened to the Kid, didn't it? That's why she won't let me see her. "Yeah, far as I can tell. Lorne's with her."

Oh… uh… "Not sure if that's a _good_ thing."

She throws me an evil look… but dammit, let me _see_ her. "Just shut up and let me do my work."

When you let me see her, I will. I take another deep breath, trying to shut out the increasing pain from the arm. "Let me see… Kid."

"Shut. Up." Uh-oh, she's _not_ amused. In fact, she looks almost pissed. "Seriously, no painkillers for you if you don't shut your trap now."

Yeah, as if you would. "Can't threaten me with that… that's illegal."

She raises her eyebrow. "Oh yeah? Watch me." With that… she moves to put the syringe away… and I finally get a look at Kid, sitting a few feet away from me, looking a little shaken up… but otherwise okay. Forsberg is doing some bandaging on her left arm and Lorne has his hand on her shoulder, talking to her… but she's alive. Oh thank _God_ she's alive and her "I'm here, sir," wasn't some pain induced hallucination. I allow myself to lean back again.

"Another day, Laura… another day." She turns back to me, syringe still in hand and ready, smirking.

With a very satisfied "I _knew_ you're too much of a sissy to make it without painkillers," she drives the needle right into my thigh and seemingly half an eternity later I feel the pleasant numbness of the morphine set in. _God_ , this feels _good_.

After that, it's only a matter of minutes until Laura has corrected a bit of Reece's work and while I start slowly drifting off to painkiller wonderland, she leaves my side to have a look at Reece again. But instead of blissful loneliness I get… Evan Lorne. Oh great, she must have ordered him to take care that I wouldn't do anything stupid… as if I could.

"Pretty little mess you got yourself into here, Moore." I just roll my head to give him a _look_ but that only makes him grin. "Well, you and your little Lieutenant, that is. Never thought she'd turn out to be quite a handful." And here we go again. Ever since my slip of tongue about having to break my Lieutenant out of jail he just can't let a chance to get a jab at me go by. Bastard. It also seems he's not quite finished. "And by the way… too much "Casablanca" for you, Moore."

I manage to raise my eyebrow. "Point being?"

A grin escapes him, telling me he's going in for the kill now. "Here's looking at you, _Kid_?"

Idiot. And idiot _me_ that I let him hear that somewhere. I growl, "Just shut up."

His grin grows brighter. "Nope. That's too good to ignore it."

Okay, so much for peacefully drifting off to painkiller wonderland. I have to fight that just for a little while longer… just long enough to get him what he deserves. "You wouldn't say that if I wasn't too hyped up on painkillers to be any real challenge."

His grin becomes a tad smug now. "Face it; you will _never_ be a real challenge to me, with or without painkillers."

He _really_ wouldn't say that if I wasn't too hyped up on painkillers to do anything more than sit around here and throw him glares. Maybe I'm not his superior in unarmed combat skills or higher mathematics but I'm positively his _equal_. "Does grating on a wounded man's nerves actually give you some kind of sick satisfaction, Lorne?"

A raised eyebrow. "You really need to ask _that_?"

I can only roll my eyes. At least he always preserves some sense of self-irony. "You got a point there."

He just shrugs and then starts getting on my nerves _again_. "So… about this Kid issue…"

Nope, buddy, _not_ today. Because, you know… I think the morphine finally caught up with me. "Shut up… and let me pass out in peace." I don't even hear his answer because the moment I say it… I let the morphine do its work.


	10. Chapter 10

**Ten**

_DeLisle_

Hunter on the prowl, that's what I am now. And I _hate_ it. But I've got no other choice now… and I'm getting close. Noruega took her time – about 20 minutes – but then she took the bait, most probably knowing it was a trap. For her it's a game and she's pretty good at it. Always was, always will be. That is, if I don't catch her first.

She saw the traps I set off in the intranet and immediately started wiping her tracks. I also got myself a lifesigns detector and either she doesn't know she has an implant or she didn't bother to find a way to shut it off, simply because she believes she'll get away anyway. Well… that's one of her two big weaknesses: Her hubris. She doesn't overestimate herself… she simply underestimates others.

So I'm following her through the compound now, in a zig zag run because she wants to have a little fun before she moves to confront me. She edges closer to the Stargate step by step but I'm almost positive she won't just leave. That's not her style, not in a case like this. My presence here has stimulated her sense of competition and she won't leave without one last confrontation. It suits well with her sense for dramatics, which would be the second big weakness.

I decided to go for her on my own, without informing anyone else simply because I don't have much time left. She'll either try to reach Rimmers and Strathen or make straight for the 'Gate, nothing in between. Damn, I wish I knew anything about Laura's progress. I may be gaining on Noruega but it _would_ be nice to have at least an inkling as to what her next steps might be. If they caught Rimmers and could render Strathen harmless, she'll not waste any time and make for the 'Gate. If they haven't yet… she'll at least try to reach them to determine if she can still fulfill her mission objective.

Looking at the lifesigns detector again, I can see that she… ah, she changed direction… a straight path for the 'Gate now, also directly intercepting me. Okay… it's time for the confrontation then. I ready myself, check the G36 one last time… and start running in her direction. At the last bend before reaching her, I stop and decide to give her one last chance. "I know you can see me. It's over, Catalina." _Damn_. Noruega. She's _Noruega_ , or maybe Sergeant Noruega. She's _not_ Catalina or Tali or anything else.

As if she read my thoughts, I hear her chuckle from around the bend. "What, you reconsidered my offer?"

Yeah, well, that was to be expected. But I'm not new to her taunting. And I'm not… _involved_ with her anymore. "Quit it. And hands up." With that, I round the bend… only to be greeted by a volley of bullets from a Beretta. Well, of course she wouldn't go down without a fight. I just didn't count on it being so violent, that's all. But you only fool me once.

The next time I round the bend, I do it with a few bullets aimed to the ground and then the rifle trained at her. All she does is grin at me. "Go on, shoot me." Yeah, go on, shoot her. Pull the trigger. You were good at that… once upon a time. Long distance shots, short distance shots… you could do them all.

But then again… it's been a long time since then. "I don't need to. You're under arrest, Sergeant Noruega."

Her grin becomes somewhat sardonic and even malicious. "You always were too soft for that kind of work, Sy. That's why you quit."

My hands grip the rifle harder and I have to bring up every ounce of self-control I have not to let her see how furious that remark made me. That's what she wants me to do: Lose focus, give her a weakness she can lock her jaws into. "No, I quit because I actually take the Air Force Core Values to heart. Does "Integrity First" ring any bells?"

Now she rolls her eyes, as if I just told her about something so far outdated no one even considered it anymore. "Aw, come on, Sy…"

Dammit, I've had it. "No, _you_ come on. Weapon on the ground, hands against the wall, feet apart, Sergeant Noruega. _Now_."

And of course that was a mistake. "Oh, is that how you like it now?" Yeah, I deserved that.

However… I'm fed up with this business. "I wasn't joking, Noruega."

She smirks again. "Me, either." With that she raises the Beretta again, pulls the trigger… and in the same moment my survival instincts take over as I throw myself to the side and fire in her general direction. One of the bullets must have hit her because I suddenly hear a rather furious shout from her and the Beretta clutters to the ground. Immediately I throw myself at her, trying to bring her to the ground but desperation and adrenaline… holy _crap_.

She pulls a knife from her belt and goes straight for my leg… and manages to bury it pretty deep. Fucking sodding bloody crap, not the fucking leg _again_. With only so much as a grunt I manage to push the pain into the background, get her on the ground and push my knee between her shoulder blades. She tries to struggle against me but the blood loss and pain from the gunshot make her defense weak and I can pull out my wire straps and bind her wrists together. Then I finally tap my ear piece, "DeLisle to Dearing. I need an MP team and a medical team for two wounded in hut B3, corridor. _Now_." Hopefully… I manage to hold out until both teams are here.

_Reece_

Okay, so… I know I shouldn't be here. I know I should be in the locker room, waiting for Laura to finish showering and then head home together with her because quite frankly I feel like I'll simply pass out from exhaustion pretty soon if I don't go to bed. But there's something niggling at me… has been ever since I passed out from it back on that planet.

At first I really thought it was some kind of strange hallucination and that I was going crazy or something… but something in the Major's reaction made me doubt it. He was… he sounded… guilty. Yeah, that's the right word. He sounded guilty. Which is why I'm now sitting at his bed, waiting for him to wake up. Like I said, I know I shouldn't do this but I just… I have to _know_ it. I have to know if I was hallucinating… or _remembering_ it. Because, you know… now that I go through it again… it feels like… the last missing piece to a puzzle.

The strange allusions when we were at the Major's house, when the Major was about to ask me something about my mission report, the pussyfooting about how we finally got out of that compound, the reason why Dee always looked a little uncomfortable when the conversation steered towards that part of the mission… and most of all the feeling of _finally_ having filled the last white spot in my memories.

I sit on a chair beside his bed, my legs drawn up to my chest, my arms around them, chin on my knees and watch him. He doesn't look so tense anymore but because he's so pale – and because the infirmary light is really cruel that way – I can see all the bruises in his face where Rimmers hit him. His arm is in a plaster cast now and I'm pretty sure it'll only hold a maximum of two weeks. After that he'll have badgered Laura and the rest of the infirmary personnel into taking it off just to get him off their backs. Sometimes, he can be a real idiot.

And still… oh, movement on the bed. A groan… and then his eyes crack open, very slowly and he needs a minute or two to realize where he is. Then… he takes a look around… and sees me. For a moment… neither of us says anything, probably because we're both too startled. Then… I can't help saying, "It wasn't a hallucination."

He blinks, still a little disoriented. "What…"

I bite my lip and just keep on talking. "It was a flashback, wasn't it?"

Again blinking… and then realization sets in. You can see it in the way the guilt is now all over his face because the aftermath of the anesthetics has robbed him of his usual defense. He even goes as far as letting out a little groan. "Kid…"

This is the moment… where I realize I don't want to talk to him right now. In fact… I don't want to talk to him _at all_. For an unspecified amount of time. Now that I have my confirmation… I feel… I feel _furious_ at him. And at the rest of my team. I take a deep breath. "With all due respect, sir, I would have liked to _know_ I killed a man before it came back to hit me in the middle of a mission and practically render me immobile."

He takes a deep breath himself and I can see that the mission took enough toll on him that he's definitely _not_ up for that kind of talk right now. He still tries, "Look, I know you're upset and you have every right to… just…"

But _I_ am not ready for that talk, either. Maybe I'll never be. I just want to say one thing now, "I'm not upset, sir. I'm livid. And I think I should better go now, seeing as I'm about to say some things that are neither good for me nor my career. I really wish you a speedy recovery and everything; just… don't expect me to come by here very often." With that, I get up, leaving him actually gaping and when I'm just about to leave his cubicle; I hear a frustrated grunt behind me that tells me he knows _exactly_ how _furious_ I am. Good. He deserves it.


	11. Chapter 11

**Eleven**

_Greenspan_

Well… that was probably not the kind of survival exercise Tom and Evan had in mind when they planned it. Instead of the usual bruises, occasional bouts of flu or maybe sprained ankles we have… an arm broken twice, a graze shot to another arm and a knife flesh wound to a leg I recently treated for a gun shot. Nice results, all in all.

Okay, maybe I shouldn't be _that_ sarcastic because we also have two dead traitors and one in custody. I still would have preferred option number one – that is the usual scrapes instead of what we finally delivered into the infirmary – but yeah… can't have everything. Now… where's my roommate? I'm pretty sure she's done in the infirmary now…

"Why didn't you tell me, Dee?" Oh, that's Maureen's voice, coming out of the common room ahead of me… and she doesn't sound… _happy_. I edge closer. "Why didn't _any_ of you tell me?" Uh-oh… please someone tell me she isn't talking about what I'm afraid she's talking about. "Why didn't _you_ tell me?"

"It wasn't my place, ma'am." And that's Dee – I won't even _try_ to figure out how he might have escaped the infirmary with a flesh wound in his leg – his voice sounding somehow tight. _Crap_. This _is_ about Maureen somehow having found out about the last missing piece of the bio-weapons lab mission… and the way she sounded… she found out the hard way… oh God, someone please tell me she didn't find out sometime during the hostage situation. I have to…

"Yeah, your place is quite comfortable." She _did_ find out during the hostage situation. There's no other way that could explain the sharpness in her tone. I've never before heard her talk like _this_ and Dee is about the last person I would have guessed she'd talk to like this. "In fact, you _never_ have to face any uncomfortable situations because you can always leave it to the officers." Alright… that's enough. Now I _really_ …

"With all due respect, ma'am, I think it's better if we just stop this conversation before either of us might do something they might regret later." Dee really doesn't sound happy. I can understand that… seeing as there was obviously a connection between him and the third traitor, a certain First Sergeant Catalina Noruega. I tried to find out a bit more about her in the short time I had since we arrived back but no one could – or _would_ – tell me anything about her. They wouldn't even tell me if she _really_ worked for the NID… really, I've never seen so many walls go up so fast before. And I hadn't even really started digging. So yeah… Dee must feel pretty horrible right now.

"Oh, right, of course. It's just me. Why tell me I shot a guy in the head? Ah yeah, it wasn't your place to do so. But it was surely _Laura's_. Any idea why _she_ didn't tell me?" Okay, that's my cue now. If I don't intervene now… I fear for irrevocable damage between Maureen and Dee and it would be _my_ fault.

I finally take a step into the common room and announce my entry with a discrete clearing of my throat. "Because Tom asked me not to." Yeah, that's right, blame Tom for everything… even though it's _your_ fault.

Dee and Maureen both look at me now, Maureen a little… disbelieving and Dee… something between hurt and exhausted. For a moment it's silent, then Maureen makes an attempt to say something… stops herself… starts again. "Leave me alone. All of you… just leave me alone." With that, she brushes past me and I'm almost sure I saw her eye shimmering wet with tears. Holy crap. What did I _do_?

After another moment of stunned silence, I turn to Dee and sigh a little resigned. "Go on, say it."

He raises his eyebrow. "Say what, ma'am?"

I sigh again. "That it's all my fault."

For a moment… it almost looks like he _will_ say that but then all he says is, "I won't, ma'am… because it's simply not my place to say it." Okay, Dee is _not_ in a talkative mood today. Not that surprising, granted. "However… if it _was_ my place to say it… I'd say that it was _our_ fault." Oh… oh, that _is_ surprising. It almost… sounds like he said it to… comfort me. Although I'm probably the one that needs the least comfort of us all.

Too touched to talk for a moment, I can finally bring myself to say, "Nice try, Dee." Aw, crap, it wasn't supposed to sound _that_ gruff. Damn, I need to go to bed. We _all_ need to go to bed. I sigh again. "Dee… do me a favor? Let the med team I will now call lead you back to the infirmary and try to stay there at least for the night. I'd even go as far as babysit you but I have a seriously pissed off Marine to track down to make sure she doesn't get herself into trouble. Think you can do that?"

Mh… did I just see him blush when I said the babysitting-thing? Well… maybe I shouldn't have because that was really just a _tad_ over the top. But yeah, it wouldn't be Dee if he would let anyone – let alone _me_ – make him uncomfortable with just a little remark like that. He just says, almost in his usual dry tone, "Yes, ma'am. I think I can. Barely, but… yes."

Trying not to show too much relief, I call the infirmary and then am almost off to go looking for Maureen when Dee clears his throat. "Could _you_ please do me a favor, ma'am?" I raise my eyebrows. "Make sure you find Lieutenant Reece. I… didn't get to tell her I'm sorry for holding out on her with crucial information concerning her, yet." Oh Dee… she bitched at you and you _still_ are sorry for not telling her? Your mountain of guilt must be even higher than _mine_.

I try to give him an encouraging smile. "I'll do my best. Good night, Dee."

And finally he can bring himself to smile, at least a little bit. "Good night, ma'am." Well, then… on to finding my elusive Marine.

_Reece_

I want to go home. I want my bed. I want… I want this memory to disappear again.

And I want myself to stop being such a whiny brat. All I'd have to do would be call Laura and ask her for a lift home… but after the exit I just pulled… after the _horrible_ things I just said to Dee which Laura must have heard… I just… can't. I haven't changed a bit. I'm still whiny, I'm still immature, I'm still unable to face my mistakes, weaknesses and darkest moments. Because that thing in the bio-weapons lab? _Prime_ dark moment. I must have killed that guy from close up, only a few feet away from him and I pumped two bullets into his head, without hesitation, without…

"Maureen?" Why does she have to do that? Why does she have to be such a good superior, such a good _friend_? "Come on, Maureen… let's get home."

Home… I feel a hand on my shoulder that squeezes it gently and then her presence beside me. She waits for me to say something… and I want to but all I can manage is a strangled… _something_ between a sob and a coherent word. I turn to her… and maybe it's the genuine worry and guilt on her face that makes my initial anger go away and only leaves the disorientation and feeling of being completely lost again behind.

Somehow, Laura seems to have seen it even in the semi-dark of the parking lot and after a moment of insecurity simply engulfs me in a hug. I can't help hugging her back, realizing how much I just wanted someone to give me a little comfort after everything that happened today. She lets me cry in silence for a few moments and then says, "I'm sorry, Maureen. I should have convinced him to let _me_ tell you but I thought he'd do it right, just once."

I just shake my head. I'm too tired to talk about this now. I'm… I'm too tired to talk about _anything_ right now. "Could we just… go home?"

She looks at me for a moment, as if to determine if I'm still mad at her but I guess all she sees now is fatigue so in the end she nods and says, "Sure." Then she smiles a little. "I'll even try to drive carefully."

That elicits a reluctant smile, even from me. "Try being the operative word, huh?"

She sighs. "I deserved that one, huh?" I just shrug apologetically. With that, we walk over the dark parking lot to her car. When we have almost reached it… she takes a deep breath. "Maureen… I guess you don't want to talk about it but… maybe we still should. Now, I mean."

Oh, Laura… why can't you just let it lie? Why do you always have to talk about everything _right_ when it happens – or at least as soon as you can? Wordlessly I get into the car, lean my head against the headrest and close my eyes. Sleep… oh yeah, that would be nice. But she wouldn't give it a rest, anyway. As she gets into the car, I sigh. "Alright, fine. But let's get this over with on the drive home, okay? I swear… I won't talk a word about this the moment I cross the threshold."

She starts the car, rolls her eyes and says, "Fair enough. So… like I said… it was my fault. I should have… insisted on Tom letting me do the talking." Well… we've already been there. When she realizes I'm not going to give her a direct answer to that, she changes lanes in her usual… interesting way and continues talking, "He's… he really sucks at this kind of thing. You know psycho stuff and being sensitive and all that. I asked him to let me do it… tell you about you shooting Robbins and everything, I mean." She throws me a look again and I start feeling uncomfortable. But I allowed her to break the topic, so I have to go through with it now. "He told me he could handle it because it's his duty and you deserved to hear it from your CO and all that… Damn, I should have _known_ he'd screw this one up royally." Agitated, she hits the steering wheel and only marginally misses the horn.

And what did she mean… I deserve it? "Laura… I get all this but what I really want to know is… _why_ didn't you just _tell_ me, either of you… _all_ of you?"

She takes a deep breath. "You should ask that Tom. It was his decision to wait with it and not even _I_ can look so far into his head… and sometimes not even I have the right to speak for him. All I can do is tell you why _I_ didn't tell you and that's because Tom asked me not to do it. And that I'm sorry about not convincing him to let me do it."

I look out of the window, into the dark; let the city lights swirl by. I should be at least irritated that she's using the Major as an excuse but for some reason… I fail to convince myself that she _is_. Laura… Laura is pretty good at lying but she doesn't like to do it. And as far as I know… she _never_ lies to her friends, about things like this. She really doesn't know – or doesn't feel like she has the right to tell me – why the Major didn't just tell me… and she feels genuinely sorry for all of that.

"Maureen?" I turn back to her and she throws me a short almost anxious look before concentrating on the road again… and thank God for that.

However… I guess I owe her an answer. "It's… okay, Laura. I see… I see why you didn't tell me. I just…"

She bites her lip. "I know he doesn't deserve it but… go easy on him this time, Maureen. I'm pretty sure he didn't do it to _harm_ you. He just… he just didn't know better." But shouldn't he? Know better, I mean. As a CO with several years of leadership experience under his belt, missions to God knows where… Laura throws me another look. "I know what you're thinking, Maureen… and basically you're right. But this is Tom we're talking about here." I just raise an eyebrow. Yeah… so? Point being? "Tom… doesn't do talking really well. I don't know when exactly it happened but somewhere during the time he vanished from everyone's radar – including _mine_ – they simply bred it out of him. He was difficult with talking before… but after that it took me at least a year to get him almost back to normal at least."

I throw her a look. She stares out at the road but now she's doing it because she doesn't want to meet my eyes, I'm pretty sure about that. Laura and the Major… they have so much history that no one will ever understand everything between them, maybe not even themselves. What she did just now was… basically very close to betraying his trust. She told me something about him only very few people know – maybe the two of us and Dee are the only ones – and that she probably wasn't _supposed_ to tell me. It also reminded me of the fact that I'm not the only one in the team who's pretty screwed up. I sigh again. "We'll see about that. I just… I need a little time, Laura. Give me that at least, okay?"

And damn, she actually managed to make me start regretting how I behaved at the Major's bed. God… I can only hope he'll _never_ tell her about _that_ one because he was still too drugged to remember much of it. Or maybe… _I_ should simply tell her about. Just not… _today_. She pulls into the street where we live. "Okay. Just don't wait too long. Tom's also not exactly the most patient of guys." Yeah, I know _that_ as well.

"Really? Could have fooled me," I deadpan and she snorts, parking the car almost right before our door.

"Good to know you haven't lost your sense of humor." We get out of the car and I smirk at her.

"Yeah, but I might if I don't get into bed in the next five minutes." She sticks out her tongue and wants to answer something but then her cell phone rings. With a groan, she pulls it out of her handbag and gestures for me to let her take care of the call and go into the house anyway. Having been brought up to respect other people's privacy I simply turn around and trudge up the stairs.

When I'm about to unlock our apartment's door, I can hear the front door open and Laura coming in, saying, "Tom… if you want to ask about Maureen… just fucking do it. Since when are you of the pussyfooting kind?" Damn. Damndamndamn. Now he'll tell her about my little "visit" to his bedside and then… "Wow, you genius. Of _course_ she's pissed off. How do I know? Well… I actually _talked_ to her… unlike you, you moron." Uh… this is _not_ what I anticipated… and I certainly shouldn't be lurking around here. A little panicky I make another attempt at unlocking the door while hearing Laura coming up the stairs… and pausing again to talk… a lot softer than before. "Don't worry, Tom. She'll be out cold the minute her head hits the pillow… but otherwise she's fine. Seriously… no, it's just a scratch and she'll be fine in a few days. Tom, _stop_ badgering me!"

No, my hands are _not_ shaking. No, I'm _not_ getting giddy at the thought of the Major being worried about me enough to call Laura from the SGC. No, I'm… Yay, I just got the door to open right in time to vanish inside fast enough that Laura doesn't catch me eavesdropping. Which I wasn't, anyway. But one can never be too careful.

Thank God my room is the one closest to the door and so I can disappear right in time for Laura to come in… and end her conversation with the Major, "I swear, if you actually make me peek into her room…" You won't, sir. I _know_ you won't. _Please_ … "Good boy. Now go to sleep yourself. Yeah… night, Tom." A little anxiously, I listen but… the only thing is Laura huffing a little… and then her door opening. Phew.

As fast as I can, I get ready for bed and slip under the covers… and am really almost asleep the moment my head touches my pillow. But not fast enough, though, not to notice my door opening for a short moment and then softly being closed again. Well… it _is_ nice to have friends who look after you, after all… and that's a nice thought to drift to sleep with.


	12. Chapter 12

**Twelve**

_DeLisle_

Stupid, stupid leg… and stupid, stupid Sergeant Noruega. At least she's off the base now. Which, come to think of it, is not exactly a _good_ thing. It's been three days now since we came back from the Beta site and I didn't even get to get one last look at her – stupid idea, I know, _okay_? – because they'd transferred her… somewhere else during my night in the infirmary.

I still haven't found out where exactly and I have this strange feeling… that I'll never find out at all. All of that… gives me a slightly queasy feeling because something tells me… that there are more parties involved than just the rogue NID section… which in turn could mean that we're in for more than just this nasty surprise. Should talk to the Major about that. Should _definitely_ talk to the Major about that.

Now, where was I… "You know… I haven't been serving here for very long… but I'm pretty sure it's _not_ allowed to dismantle and clean your gun in the common rooms." What the…? I must be getting old. Lieutenant Reece just managed to sneak up on me. But at least I'm still hard-nosed enough not to jump at that and go on with my business without even looking up.

"Oh, usually I just tell people to register their complaint with my CO. The moment I tell them it's Major Moore the issue seems to have vanished into thin air all of a sudden." I hear her sit down in the arm chair opposite to the couch I'm sitting on and after another moment of stalling I look up again. She has curled up, looking even smaller than she usually appears to be. Again I catch myself wondering how someone like her made it into the USMC… and chastise myself immediately for letting myself be fooled by looks. By now I should really know better than to doubt her.

When she doesn't say anything, I turn back to my gun cleaning… but after another moment, she clears her throat and finally says, "Dee?"

I look up again. Now she has drawn one of her legs to her chest and has her forearms and chin lying on that knee. I'm reluctant to answer, still reminiscent of her little outburst the last time I saw her. But then again… she's still my superior. _And_ she doesn't look anywhere near as agitated now as she looked three days ago. "What is it, ma'am?"

She bites her lip, fiddles a little with her hair… and looks every inch like the vulnerable young woman she is beneath the Marine. "I just wanted to say… I'm sorry."

Oh. Oh, that's… not what I expected. It does throw me a little off-course. So I stall. "For what, ma'am?"

She draws the other leg to her chest as well, no doubt in an attempt to build herself a shell for her insecurities. "Look, I know you're upset and everything and you've got every right to be." Damn right, you are, Lieutenant. But I'll cut you a _lot_ of slack for coming to me on your own. Not many officers are ready and smart enough to do such a thing for an NCO. "I… Laura told me a little about your past; all that CIA stuff and everything… I had no right getting off on you like that."

I resist a sigh and put away the part I'd been cleaning to look at her without being preoccupied. "You're right, ma'am, you didn't." It makes her blush a little. Which immediately makes me cut her a little more slack… even though I'm not quite sure if I actually approve of Laura telling her the few things she knows about my CIA past. "However… you didn't know about the CIA. And I should have voiced my discomfort about keeping this piece of information from you to Major Moore and Captain Greenspan."

At that she loosens up again… obviously because she has realized I'm not going to give her the silent treatment or a drill instructor like dressing down. Man, that's one Lieutenant who still has to learn _tons_ of stuff. "It's okay, Dee. You were right; it really wasn't your place to tell me anything." Maybe… it wasn't my place as a _subordinate_ to saying anything… but it sure _was_ my place as a _friend_. But before I can finish contemplating if I should tell her that, she beat me to it. "Dee… do me a favor?"

I try not to look to wary. As far as I can remember… she never asked me for any kind of favor so I'm just a little bit apprehensive what this could be about. "Sure."

She takes a deep breath. "Could you please… stop with the ma'am business?"

Aw, come on, not _you_ , too, Lieutenant. Seriously… there's a _reason_ why I call you officers 'sir' and 'ma'am'. "It would be against the Code of Conduct, ma'am."

A sound that's very close to growling escapes her throat "God, _stop_ that. Every time you do it, I feel like you're mocking me. Or like it takes you a lot to show me respect. I _know_ I'm not exactly a respect demanding person."

Oh… obviously her reasons for wanting me to stop calling her "ma'am" are totally different from Laura's… and totally different from what I expected them to be. I take great care _not_ to smile when I answer her, "Ma'am… why do you think should I have reason to _mock_ you or to deny you the respect you deserve as an officer of the United States Marine Corps?" Seriously, why would she think that?

It takes her a moment to gather her thoughts together but then she says, almost as if in a ramble, "Well, it's just… you're what… ten years my senior? You've probably been serving longer than I have fingers on my hand… you're a demolitions genius and then there's all this Black Ops experience you have… I always feel like it should be the other way around. Honestly, Dee… please don't call me ma'am. It just doesn't feel right."

Well… it doesn't feel right for me _not_ to call her "ma'am", even if all of which she just said is actually true. I try to tell her so, "With all due respect, ma'am… I can't do that." And then, when I see her almost pained face… I get an idea. "I think… I think I'll call you ma'am as long as it takes you to realize I do this because I have a genuine respect for you, your skills and the hard work you put into staying a member of this team. When you have come that far… we can talk about it again." It's true. Every little word of it is true. There _is_ more than just the Code of Conduct that makes it impossible for me not to pay her the respect she deserves… and I hope to God she believes me.

She still needs some moments to digest that. She also needs several attempts to speak up again until she finally says, "Right… so… this whole thing with Noruega and the CIA… if you want to talk about it… I mean… the little stuff you are allowed to talk about…"

Ah, changing the topic. Pretty clever… but then again she _is_ a linguist and pretty good at talking herself out of almost everything. And she's brave; trying to confront me about some of the things I wouldn't even talk to the Major about. But then again… she isn't the Major. And she isn't Laura. In fact… she may be the only person I could actually talk to about all of this _because_ we don't have any significant history besides serving on this team together. I take up my cleaning again… and a conversationalist tone, "Tali… that's how I used to call her… back when we worked together."

At first she looks a little baffled that I actually took up her offer but then she settles in for listening to me and asking the right questions at the right time… and being quiet when she should be. When I tell her everything I'm allowed to tell her about Noru… Tali – how we started out, what brought us together, why it didn't work – she manages to surprise _me_ with how good a listener she can be and I find myself regretting I didn't take some time before to talk her alone. Maybe… maybe one day I'll even tell her about the complicated issues that surround Laura.

I have no idea how much time had passed when I finally finish my tale but it does feel like a small eternity. I think I got her to open up enough – well and myself, for that matter – that I dare changing the topic myself when I'm done. I take a deep breath. "Ma'am… I know it's none of my business… but don't let the Major suffer for too long. It wouldn't do the team much good if you did."

"Right. Guess I… might need some time alone now. If anyone asks… I'll be on the surface." For a moment… it looks like she's closing herself off again and I regret having been so straightforward. Damn, I really shouldn't have tried to meddle with… "Hey, it's okay. You _are_ right. I just… need to get my act together, that's all," she adds with a little smile telling me she's not mad at me and I'm glad about that. Somehow I feel responsible for her and the last thing I want to do now that we did get a little closer is upsetting her.

"Of course, ma'am." She grimaces again. Nope, won't give it up, Lieutenant. Not yet, anyway.

"Do you really have to do that?" You really have to ask?

"Yes, ma'am." Did she just actually cringe?

"But… it makes me really uncomfortable." Yep, she _did_ cringe. But that's just one more obstacle you have to climb, Lieutenant.

I resist another sigh. "With all due respect, ma'am, that's mainly because your _rank_ makes you uncomfortable." Blushing again… yep, hit the bull's eye nice and square with that one. I can't help cracking a little grin at her. "We just have to work on that."

Did she just almost stick out her tongue at me? Nah must have been imagining that. Otherwise trying to teach her to fully embrace what she's meant to be might prove as a _major_ mistake. "Later, Sergeant." Okay… it _was_ a major mistake. Great, DeLisle, look what you got yourself into. "Now, though… I'll leave you to your gun, huh. See you at lunch?" I nod, dreading the very, very slow walk over to the mess hall… but that's still miles better than being confined to the infirmary. "Good." With that, she gives me a little half-smile and then leaves the common room again. Now… if I could just find a way to find out where _exactly_ on the surface she wants to go… and to tell the Major about it without outright betraying her…

_Moore_

Can someone _please_ tell me what the hell possessed my linguist to decide her private sanctuary had to be up the damn Mountain, in a _restricted_ area? And, more importantly, how did she _get_ there in the first place?

And, well, why do _I_ want to get there anyway? Why _should_ I? According to Laura it would be a lot better if I waited and let her come to me… but I was never good with waiting. Well, in this kind of stuff, I mean. I can lie on a roof and wait for my target to appear for ages but waiting for someone to decide they want to talk to me again? Not my strongest suit.

So now I'm half-crawling through the underbrush, almost ready to rip off the damn plaster cast and non-stop swearing under my breath while following the trail Kid left… always waiting for some overzealous MP team to descend on me and get on my nerves for scampering through off-limits forest. Just. Fucking. Great.

Where the hell… oh. There she is. Sitting with her back to me but I guess she already heard me with those super-sensitive ears of hers – one of the qualities I wish someone would have told me about _before_ she accidentally heard me… trying to sing in the shower. Through the door of the men's locker room. While she was talking to Laura.

Anyway, I do have to give her credit for not even jumping a little, not to mention turn around to acknowledge me. Someone… appears to be really pissed at me, it seems. So pissed, in fact, that I… hesitate a moment before walking up to her and sitting down beside her on the log. When I do… she doesn't react… doesn't even scoot a little or something. Oh well, the hard way, then.

I take a deep breath. "You know you aren't allowed to be here, right?"

Her answer comes immediately, "Yes, sir."

I raise my eyebrow, waiting for some of her usual stuttering or at least blushing… but that's it. Just those two words. It throws me a little off-course. "That's all you have to say? "Yes, sir"?"

She nods, still not looking at me. "Exactly, sir."

"Fine." Yeah, that's just the right way to get back into her good graces… and why the hell am I doing this? I'm her _CO_ , goddammit, _I_ don't need _her_ absolution. She doesn't even have a right to… okay, she _has_. Crap.

Damn, I should have listened to Laura. I should have waited for her to come to me… because now that I'm sitting beside her I feel utterly… stupid. Deep down, I thought she'd be her usual self – a little flustered, a little clumsy, a little woozy. But she's so… different. She's determined to give me the silent treatment and it's actually the first time I realize that deep down she's a Marine, every day, every hour, not just on the battlefield. Man… what did I get myself into?

Well… maybe it's time to make a few amends here. "Look, Kid… I know you're still not in the mood to talk to me."

 _Still_ not looking at me. "Damn right, sir."

Kid, don't do that. Don't make me… crawl on my knees. Don't… ah hell. "And you have every right to. It's just… look, I'm really sorry." And I am. I may be an insensitive prick 90% of the time but I do see when I made a mistake… well, when it has the size of a small planetoid, that is. "Laura told me not to mess it up and I still did. I just want you to know… I didn't do it on purpose. I didn't want to let it spoil your performance or even worse."

Again, she takes her time with an answer… but when she does it, she looks at me again, for the first time since I arrived here. "Then why _did_ you do it?"

Well, yes, why _didn't_ I tell you? Oh well, mistakes the size of a planetoid often require a self-humiliation about the same size. "Because believe it or not, even I can be an idiot sometimes. It's just… I was… hoping you wouldn't ever remember it."

For a seeming eternity, she doesn't say anything. She only has this look on her face she always has when she's contemplating something seriously, weighing the pros and cons, trying to illuminate every little dark corner… and finally settles with, "Why, sir?"

Of all the things she could have said… she just asks me why? And does that mean she's not as livid as she was three days ago? Anyway… she deserves an answer. "Because everyone who remembers their first kill wishes they didn't." At least I sure wish I didn't.

She takes a deep breath and nods. "Right." And then, after another pause of contemplation, she adds, "It's just that… your reasoning has one big flaw." I raise my eyebrow again. Does it? "In our line of work… I was _bound_ to kill someone anyway at some point."

Right. Yes, she was. There goes my reputation for being infallible for good. I rub my neck. "You're right. Of course you're right. I just… all I can say is that I'm sorry."

She just nods, pressing her lips together, not looking particularly happy. Well, what did you expect, Moore? That she'd be so awed at your apology that she'd forget about her justified wrath in a heartbeat? She's silent again. For a very, very long time.

God, how can someone who's main expertise is language be so silent for so long? Seriously, this is ridiculous… unnatural even. Why can't she just… "Sir?"

I blink. Can she also read my _thoughts_ now? She has to move out of Laura's place. Right now. But, okay, maybe I should answer her first. "What is it?"

Putting one of her locks behind her ears she bites her lip and asks, now looking much more than her usual mid-twenties insecure self. "Does it ever get… easier?"

For a moment, she looks so innocent… even a little lost. Like back on my couch after that team evening a while ago, when Laura asked me what I felt about her… and for maybe a second or two I feel the very annoying impulse to hug her. Instead of that, though, I only give her the harsh truth. "No."

To my surprise… that seems to satisfy her as she says, "Good." Then she adds a little tentatively, "Sir? Can I ask you another question?"

That she's slowly getting back to the Maureen Reece I'm used to… elicits a little smile from me. "Sure, Kid, anything you want."

Carefully, she takes a deep breath and then asks, "Did you ever… did you ever kill a child?"

Whoa, that's… usually, that kind of question is so personal that I'd seriously kick the ass of whoever asks it… even Laura probably wouldn't be safe. But then again… I'm not _really_ in the right shape to kick anyone's ass anyway. I sigh. "No. And I hope to God it will stay like this… for all of us."

After that, it's quiet again but somehow… it's not the strained and difficult silence from before. It's almost… companionable. Even nice. Huh. Well… until she opens her mouth again… even with an almost… smirk. "You were right, sir. You really messed it up."

I scowl at her. "Rub it in, will ya?"

She rolls her eyes, a little like… Laura. "I wasn't finished."

Uh… "Oh… right. Go ahead."

A little resignedly she sighs as well. "You messed it up, sir. But for reasons that were the right ones… in some strange, twisted way. I think I might be able to forgive you… just please don't do it _ever_ again."

You know… the strangest thing about this is this… I'm genuinely relieved to hear that. I know it's stupid – and Lorne would have a _field day_ right now, seeing me reduced to the mercy of my youngest team member – but it _does_ feel good to hear that she didn't plan on holding this grudge forever. Or well, at least I _hope_ she won't hold this grudge forever. Otherwise I might be in _deep_. "I think I can manage that." I look at her and she looks at me… and suddenly we both have to work hard to hold back bright grins. Phew. So that's solved, at least for now. Time to go before the MP's find us. "Kid?"

"Mh?" Carefully trying to make it look like I don't have any difficulties, I get up from the log.

"I don't think the MP's would be particularly happy to find us here on their next round." Let's see if she's smart enough…

"I think… you _might_ have a point there, sir. Got a little uncomfortable, anyway." Okay, she _is_ smart enough. Good to know. "Let's get back, huh? Lest Laura and Dee get worried we might have strangled each other or something, you know." With that she also gets up and starts making her way back through the underbrush.

So… well done, Major. Your linguist talks to you again and your team is still in one piece. You can be proud of yourself… and of your linguist. And I am. One day… I might even tell her so.


End file.
